Break Your Rule
by MienFacade
Summary: The Joker's in jail again but he's got leverage over Gordon, his daughter. After using Hailey to get out if jail will the Joker honor his deal or keep her with him, slowly corrupting her mind and turning her into a criminal. Joker/OC rating may change.
1. Busted

Jim Gordon walked into the interrogation room where the Joker was being held. It was white with one desk on which stood a lamp. One side of the room was a full window in which people were staring, trying to see what Gordon would do. He couldn't see them, nor could the Joker, but they both knew they were there. And frankly it was annoying Gordon. He sat down in front of the Joker and rubbed his face. He knew for a fact that he wasn't going to get anything useful out of him, but it was procedure to do this. However "this" was the third time it had been done, and every single time this…man somehow got out.

"Good evening co-mission-er." The Joker spoke, his voice rough. "Long tim-e no see."

Gordon sighed heavily. The Joker starred at him waiting for the questions to start. He knew what was coming; it wasn't the first time this had happened. And he knew it wouldn't be as violent as the first time because now Batman was hated by pretty much everyone so he wouldn't be behind him ready to beat him up.

The Joker examined his fingernails and picked his teeth. His tongue ran over his bottom lip quickly and darted to the side of his mouth where his scars were. After a couple of minutes of silence the Joker looked up expectantly at Gordon.

"Why?" He asked finally. "Why do you kill? Why do you get pleasure out of other people's loss and pain?"

The Joker smiled. "You know, you should really, uh, come up with different questions. This is the, what? Third time you've asked. I've told you before but I'll tell you again because I know not everyone can, uh, be as smart as me. I kill because I like it. I like it a lot. And uh, I get pleasure, as you say out of other people's loss and pain because it's just so funny! You people, you uh think that you're so much better than the others just because you uh, have fancy clothes or have more, money. You, uh civilized people believe in things such as good and hope and light. Do you remember co-mission-er, what happened to the last uh person who thought that? Hm? Uh Harvey Dent?"

"Harvey died, he was killed by Batman." Gordon replied slowly, he knew that this session was recorded and was not going to let everyone know what truly happened to Harvey.

The Joker started laughing hysterically. "Oh! Right I forgot you're sticking to that story! I mean you couldn't bear to have the people know that Harvey actually kil-"

"That's enough!" Gordon yelled slamming his fists on the desk. The Joker just smiled at Gordon, showing off his yellow teeth.

"Touchy subject?" The Joker asked laughing. "You know, this, uh justice system, it's a bad joke. Here I am, just trying to show everybody the truth, enlighten them, bring them into my game. Show them how messed up and, uh" The Joker pointed to himself, "As you say crazy, the world really is. I'm just trying to send a message and I get punished. I have never told a lie. Because if there is one thing I hate the most." He paused here a twisted smile coming to his face, " It's a liar."

The Joker paused dramatically looking at Gordon, his eyes not leaving Gordon. "And yet, here you are, a hero. Loved by Gotham for, uh saving them, and you lie to their faces. Just because you tell them what they want to hear, it uh doesn't mean it's alright to lie." Gordon just starred at the man in front of him. Even if his logic was severely flawed he was right, in his own twisted mind. Gordon had never seen the Joker lie, and he doubted he ever had. And now Gordon was lying, yes it was to help people and the greater good, but as the Joker said it was still lying.

"I'll be right back." With that he stood up and left the Joker sitting their smiling, his paint smeared so that you could actually see some of the skin underneath. The Joker was very happy; things were going as planned, and if they continued so he would be out by the end of the day. He said he wasn't a planner, but that wasn't necessarily true. He planned out little things he just didn't have long-term goals. As he waited for Gordon to come back in his mind drifted to earlier that day.

_"Boss, what are we going to do? The cops are coming." One of his clowns asked, he was afraid, the Joker could tell, but he didn't reply. "Boss? Boss I'm afraid I got a wife and kids, if I go to jail who gonna look after them?" The Joker got fed up; this is why he hated hiring family men. "Bo-" The man was cut short when the Joker shot him. _

_ He turned to the other three goons waiting for him. "Let's get going fella's" He then turned around and walked down the stairs onto the first floor of the warehouse. "Ok, here's what's going to happen. You," he pointed at a clown with blonde hair, "Shoot out that window to draw the cops over to you, when you run out of shots don't reload just grab a new gun. We will sneak to the back and take a car then come pick you up. Understand?" The clown nodded. "Good come on." He and the other two clowns walked to the back where a car was waiting._

_ "We ain't comin' back for him are we boss?" One of the men asked. _

_ "No," they heard the shots and saw the cops run to the front. Quickly they ran to the car and drove away down the street. _

_ "So where are we going now?" The clown who had talked before asked._

_ "Well Co-mission-er Gordon's daughter is visiting from college, she's a senior. I thought we'd say hi, you know introduce ourselves. It's the only polite thing to do, since I and her daddy are so close."_

_ "So we're going to their house?' The other clown asked._

_ "Oh no, she's at her summer job, the 7/11 down the street. Very little security." As he finished the sentence they pulled up to the store. "I'll do all the talking just stand there with your guns and threaten people. Okay?" They all piled out of the car and stormed into the store. "Good day everyone miss me?" The Joker had been quiet for a week or two. "No need to panic if you all do as I say, GET DOWN!" he yelled. Everyone fell to the floor terrified, this made the Joker smile and skip around. "Okay I'm going to ask a very simple question and I want the answer. Where is Hailey Gordon?" Everyone was quiet. "Anyone? No? Miss Gordon I know you're here, I've been stalking you for a week, you have work today from 9 until 4 with one 15 minute break and 45 minutes for lunch around 12. Don't try and hide from me." The Joker paused. "Still no? Alright then," He grabbed a boy off the floor who looked around 9. "If you don't come out and play I will kill him." He held a knife to the boy's throat. The boy was crying and his mother looked helpless on the floor. One of his goons was standing right next to her pointing a gun at her. _

_ "Okay stop! Here I am." A tall girl walked forward. She had raven black hair with streaks of bright blue in them, which brought out her blue eyes. She was pale, but it didn't make her look sickly or anything, no it made her almost glow. She had bangs that had fallen into her face, covering her left eye. She was also very skinny, but not anorexic looking._

_ "Well hello __**bea**__utiful." The Joker said moving towards her. She didn't flinch at all._

_ "Drop the boy." Her voice was steady and if you didn't know better you would think that she were the one who had the knife or gun._

_ "Oh right, sorry." The Joker shoved the boy to the ground who ran over to his mother. The Joker got closer to her, smiling the entire time._

_ "What do you want?" Hailey asked him, crossing her arms._

_ The Joker didn't answer her, "Do you know how I got these scars?" He moved closer._

_ "Does anybody?" Hailey snapped back. "You've said a couple of stories. Your father was drunk and did that, you did it to make your wife happy, the mob did it, your best friend when he was drunk." She paused, "Am I missing any?"_

_ "You've got a little fight in you I like that. But can I ask you a question?" He didn't wait for her to reply. "Aren't you afraid of me. I could kill you right now and not give it another thought."_

_ "You could, but you won't cause you would've done it already, and yes I'm afraid but I've never been one to let my fears control me," The Joker smiled._

_ 'I like you, so lucky you, you're coming with me." He grabbed her and pulled her to him with a knife at her throat. "Now I don't want to kill you so just do as you're told and everything will be alright." He looked over at the clowns. "Let's go boys!" _

The Joker smiled at the memory, she had put up a fight, sure, but she was no match for him. She had been able to beat up some of his guys a little, but they would recover. Honestly he had no plan at the time, he wasn't going to kidnap her, just introduce himself. But she was just so funny! He couldn't resist taking her. And it had come in handy! Now he had leverage over Gordon. He needed that since he was locked up and in handcuffs.

The night had been going very well! He had killed a couple of people. Terrorized a bunch more. And Batman even showed up! The Joker smiled thinking about how he tried to fight against crime when the whole city was against him. Anyway Batman had obviously been upset or had a lot of pent-up anger that night and actually got him! _That _was not supposed to happen.

Just then Gordon came in and sat back down. He had just had to convince everyone that the Joker was just messing with them: and there was nothing about Harvey that they didn't know. He just hoped that the Joker didn't say anything else about Harvey, at least not while they were being recorded.

Gordon sat back down and starred at the Joker, who starred right back. "What is your name?" Gordon asked.

The room was filled with deranged laughter coming from the Joker. "You…" he laughed again. "You expect me to answer that? Ha ha ha! Really?"

"Why won't you tell us? Is it because you're running from your past?" Gordon pressed.

"Well if you knew who I was you, uh, you might be able to trace me back to some people and try to, uh, get me to talk by using them. You would have, uh, leverage. Speaking of leverage, can I, uh, have my phone call?"

"What do you mean leverage?" Gordon asked. The Joker just sat there and smiled. "Tell me Joker!" Gordon yelled getting annoyed.

"I wan**t** my phone ca**ll**." The Joker said.


	2. Leverage

"For what reason? Why should we give you a phone call? Last time you blew the building up!" Gordon said.

"Becau**se** you, uh, can't afford not to." The Joker replied smiling. "My, uh, boy**s** don'**t** keep prisoners ali**ve** for more than o**ne** da**y** if I'm not, uh, there to say otherwise." The Joker ended with a laugh and his infamous Glasgow smile.

Gordon's face paled as he looked at the man in front of him. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Uh, give me a phone and you'll find out." The Joker replied. Gordon took his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to the Joker. "Let's see," The Joker said going through the phone book. "H, Hannah, nope, ah! Here we go, Hailey." The Joker pushed the call button and smiled at Gordon's terrifies expression.

"What have you done to her?" Gordon asked trying to keep his anger under control.

"Well nothing….yet." the Joker replied. "Hello? Hand the phone to our little, uh, princess." The Joker spoke into the phone. He put the phone on speaker. "Hello Hailey." He said smiling at Gordon. "I have someone very, uh, special here with me right now. Would you like to say, uh, hello?" He asked Gordon.

"Hailey!" Gordon cried. "Are you alright?"

"Dad? Dad why are you with the Joker, and yes I'm fine, just a little beat up." Hailey responded surprisingly calmly.

"We have the Joker locked up and he asked for his phone call." Gordon explained.

"Exactly." The Joker broke in. "Now darling be a doll and, uh, put the phone on speaker." They all heard a click as it switched over. "Bob can you hear me" The Joker asked.

"Yeah boss." A man replied.

"Great! Now Gordon, release me or your daughter gets killed." The Joker spoke, his voice low and deathly serious.

"Wh-what?" Gordon asked.

"You hear**d **me. Relea**se** me, or, uh, the girl, uh, won't see the sun rise tomorrow." The Joker spoke slowly, savoring the pain on Gordon's face.

"What? Dad no!" Hailey shouted. The Joker raised his eyes brow. She _wanted_ to die?

"Hailey I have to, I'm not going to loose you!" Gordon replied frantically.

"Dad wait and think about this for a minute _please_!" Hailey begged. "If you let the Joker go do you have any idea how many more people will die? How many more wives will turn into widows, hundreds of children will turn into orphans! People will loose their best friends, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles!" Hailey's voice was filled with passion. "I'm just one person dad. I don't want to die, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life knowing that so many people are suffering because of me!"

"But Hailey, you're my daughter! I'm a father first, commissioner second!

"Boys, show her who she's dealing with." The Joker spoke up again. Through the receiver Gordon could hear a slap and a cry of pain followed by more hits and then finally a scream.

"Okay! Joker you win you can go! Just don't hurt my girl!" Gordon spoke, his voice shaking.

"Perfec**t**." The Joker said smiling.

Gordon walked out of the room. Everyone was silent; they had heard most of the conversation. They already had the Joker's stuff ready. Down at MCU everyone loved Hailey like a daughter and they all would have done the same for her.

"Good job toots!" The Joker said into the phone. "You know for a minute there I actually thought he wasn't going to let me go, that would've been really annoying."

"You aren't going to let me go are you?' Hailey asked, her voice strong, only the trained ear could've heard the fear in her voice.

"We'll see, probably not." The Joker hung up the phone and walked out of the room, and over to where his things were laid out for him. "Well I thank all of you for your, uh, hospitality. And I'll be seeing you!" With that the Joker left laughing hysterically.

Bob hung up the phone and smiled creepily at Hailey. "No!" She yelled into the now dead line. "It won't change anything!" She let her head slump forward as she fought off her tears. She would NOT let these men beat her! For about twenty minutes it was quiet, none of the men spoke, they were all expecting their boss to come in any minute and didn't want to be accidentally doing anything wrong. Hailey struggled against her bonds but soon gave up, she knew it would be no use; they were to tight, so instead she focused all of her thoughts onto trying to find a way out of here. There was one door guarded by one man in the room and one man outside of it. There was a small window in which trickled a single ray of moonlight. There was a small air vent in the wall, which Hailey supposed she could just fit through, but her hands were tied behind her, and the rope was also tied to the chair. In order to even dream about getting out that way she would have to get untied. That seemed very unlikely. Just as she was about to attempt to get the attention of her captors the door was flung open. Hailey looked over and was greeted by a white face with a red smile and two black eyes.

"Hello darlin' did you miss me?" The Joker asked laughing at Hailey's look of hate. "Now, now, now is that anyway to treat me? After all I did save you."

"Saved me?" Hailey shot back, she could've laughed. "Saved me from what?"

"We-ell," The Joker paused, "I didn't, uh, know about this at the time but the mob, uh, was out to get you and about, oh an hour or two ago, the 7/11 you work at was blown up! And you would've still, uh, been there if it weren't thanks to little old me!" the Joker finished with a smile and a flourishing hand gesture.

"It what?" Hailey asked. She didn't know whether to believe him or not. It wasn't exactly unlikely that the mob was out to get her, but she didn't really trust the Joker.

"It. Blew. Up." The Joker repeated staring at her. "How does it feel Miss Gordon, to know that you owe your life to me?" the Joker asked seriously, leaning in closer. It was at this time that Hailey noticed they were completely alone. The men must have left when the Joker came in.

"I don't owe you anything!" Hailey told him, venom dripping off every word. The Joker laughed again smiling at Hailey.

"Uh, actually beautiful, you do." He skipped over to the back of the chair and untied her hands. As soon as they were free Hailey tried to fly to the door, but the Joker caught her. "Not so, uh, fast there sweets. You aren't going anywhere."

"You told my father you would let me go!" She yelled at him. "He'll kill you!" Hailey screamed and beat the Joker with her fists trying to get out of his powerful grasp. But he just laughed, as if he enjoyed the pain. Hailey knew that her punches hurt. She had taken defense classes for years and martial arts ever since she could walk pretty much. But none of her efforts seemed to affect the Joker.

"Ha ha! Your daddy's been trying to do that for over a year!" The Joker replied.

"He'll do it now! Harvey didn't get away with it and neither will you!" Hailey yelled at him.

"Oh, so you know the truth about Harvey huh? Did, uh, your daddy tell you?" The Joker asked mockingly.

"No he didn't. He doesn't know I know. It wasn't really that hard to piece together." Hailey spat at him, insulted that he didn't think she was smart enough to figure it out.

"You know they could really use you down at MCU, they aren't so, uh, smart there. I practically, uh, told them that Harvey Dent wasn't quiet as white as, uh, they liked to believe and they believed your daddy dearest when he told them I was lying. And, uh, I. Don't. Lie." The Joker's voice turned into a growl.

"He has his reasons, if the people found out they would loose faith. The Batman cares about the people of Gotham and is willing to be whatever they need him to be. Right now they need him to be the villain so that they won't loose all hope." Hailey spoke looking at the Joker.

The Joker looked at for a minute without speaking then started laughing. "You're so cute when you're angry and trying to be inspirational!" He told her smiling. Hailey just glared at him. The Joker released her wrists, which he had been holding to stop her from hitting him again. It wasn't like it hurt but it was starting to get annoying. "My, my look at the time, you must be getting tired, come on toots." The Joker grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. Hailey gasped in pain and would have fallen had the Joker not been holding her.

"Hahaha! Is that where my boys hurt you?" Joker asked her mockingly. "Well come on!" He yelled suddenly becoming angry. He walked out of the room dragging Hailey behind him. Hailey tried to get free of his grasp but was unable to. She wasn't sure where he was taking her or what he was going to do when they got there, but in his current mood, it couldn't be good.

Eventually Hailey gave up struggling and allowed herself to be pulled by the Joker past many rooms, one of them filled with the clowns watching TV. or sleeping on the couches. The Joker dragged her up a flight of stairs and into a room at the very end of the hallway.

The room was actually really nice. There was a king sized bed with green sheets and a purple comforter, a desk with papers scattered over it, a dresser and what looked like a walk in closet. On the far side of the room was a door that Hailey guessed belonged to the bathroom.

She was brought out of these thoughts when the Joker threw her down onto the bed. Fearing the worse Hailey scrambled up into a sitting position. "Now let's see your booboo." The Joker said moving towards her.

"My what?" Hailey asked confused.

The Joker sighed, "Where my boys hit you." He explained.

"Oh, um…" Hailey trailed off awkwardly. She really didn't want to lift up her shirt around anyone especially near the Joker. Let alone in his room…. on his bed.

"I'm a mass murderer, not a rapist." The Joker told her as if reading her thoughts.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?' Hailey snapped back. The Joker rolled his eyes and walked over to her. With one hand her grabbed her wrists and with the other he lifted up her shirt to reveal a gash and many, many bruises starting to form.

"They really over did this." The Joker mumbled.

"They were annoyed because I wouldn't scream. Supposedly when you tell them to 'show her who she's dealing with' that means make me scream." Hailey replied. The Joker just ignored her and went into the bathroom. Hailey sighed thankful that he hadn't noticed the other scars. She put cover up on them but they were still a slightly different color than the rest of her skin. Hailey could hear him rummaging around, obviously looking for something. When he came back out he was holding a first aid kit.

"The doctor is in." He said laughing at his own little joke…if it was a joke. Hailey wasn't sure.

Back at MCU Gordon was pacing around, it had been two hours since he had let the Joker go free, and Hailey still wasn't back yet. He had called everywhere asking if they had seen her, but no one had. Finally he slammed his fists on his desk in frustration. Everyone at the station was quiet, not knowing what to do to ease Gordon's turmoil. Just then one of the younger officers came out of his office with a regretful mien. "Um, sir, I was listening to the tape to see if we could pick anything up and, um well, after you left Hailey asked the Joker a question, and." He paused here afraid to go on.

"What did she ask? And what did he say?" Gordon almost yelled, his nerves finally breaking.

"She said that he wasn't going to let her go was he…and he said probably not." The officer hung his head sympathy washing over him for Gordon and what he must be going through right now.

"I want every available officer up and looking around for wherever the Joker could be hiding! Don't leave any place unchecked and check everywhere in that building!" Gordon's voice was filled with desperation, he couldn't loose his daughter, he, just couldn't. He had lived through Harvey threatening his two youngest children and his wife but this was the Joker, ten times worse than Harvey. And he didn't even know where he was or what he was doing to his daughter right now. Was she dead, or still alive, somewhere in between? He didn't know.

"Jim, go home to your wife and other two kids, they need you right now. I'll make sure that if anything that could be even remotely connected to Hailey is found, to contact you right away." Marty said placing his hand on Gordon's back comfortingly. "I promise you, we'll get her back." Gordon nodded and walked out the door.

"I hope you're right Marty." One of the officers said before he left as well, but he didn't go home to his family, he went out looking for Hailey, just like almost every other officer in Gotham.

Hailey hissed as the Joker finished patching her up by pouring alcohol on her wounds. "There, all done." The Joker said happily jumping up and brushing his hand off on his jeans. "Now you owe me for one more thing." He smirked.

"I told you I. Don't. Owe. You. Anything." Hailey growled glaring at him. The Joker just laughed and started to walk out the door.

"Oh, be sure to get your beauty sleep because you're gonna be filmed tomorrow. Sleep tight!" the Joker's cackle faded away as he got farther and farther away from Hailey, until all that was left was the whisper in Hailey's mind. Hailey soon lunged to the door trying to escape, but as she suspected, the door was locked. Looking around the room she looked for another way out, but the only one she saw was a window, unfortunately, she was three-stories high.

"Shit!" she yelled punching the wall in frustration. Panting she leaned against the wall suddenly tired and walked towards the bed, practically falling onto it from pure exhaustion. It must be at least 2 in the morning, she reasoned before letting her head hit the pillow, not bothering with the sheets she fell asleep.

When Hailey woke up she felt warm and comfy. _I don't remember my bed being this nice_. She thought to herself. Snapping her eyes open quickly she soon remembered where she was. Looking down at herself she saw the sheets were pulled up and she was wrapped in the comforter. _I don't think I had the sheets on me when I fell asleep._ Hailey almost screamed when she realized that someone must have come in a pulled them over her. The only person who she knew had the keys for this room was the Joker, and that was not a comforting thought.

As if on queue the Joker walked through the door not a moment later. "Ah, sleeping beauty awakes." He said happily. "Did you know that you roll in your sleep a lot? It makes it very difficult for anyone else on the bed to get some shuteye." The Joker grinned.

"You mean you were in my bed?" Hailey asked shocked.

"Uh, no." The Joker said, causing relief to wash over Hailey. "I was in _my_ bed." He finished. Any comfort Hailey had felt earlier was gone with that sentence. The Joker smiled sensing her discomfort. "C'mon toots, I've got things to see and people to do in!" He laughed at his little joke pulling Hailey up causing her o crash into him. "Throwing yourself at me princess?" He smirked.

"You wish." Hailey replied disgust evident on her face. As always the Joker just laughed and pulled her along. He led her down four flights of stairs so Hailey realized they must be in the basement. When the Joker pulled open the door it was exactly what Hailey expected, a cement floor, flickering light bulb and one lone wooden chair. "I'm guessing I go sit in the chair look pitiful and cry for help?" Hailey asked, trying to use sarcasm to hide her ever-growing fear. This man was a cold-blooded murdered, and she was his prisoner.

"Ha, ha, ha," the Joker laughed his Glasgow smile plastered on his face. "Right on toots." With that he shoved her towards the chair, but pulled her back suddenly. "But you forgot the part about roughing you up a little for the camera. As if on queue three clowns walked in. Hailey recognized one as Bob, her captor from the night before. She assumed the other two were the ones who had come with the Joker to her work.

The Joker pulled up another chair that Hailey hadn't seen and sat down. Getting a closer look at it she realized it was a directors chair. "Okay here's what's going to happen," The Joker began. "My guys are going to, as I said, rough you up, and I'm going to film little bits of it so the world can see not to mess with me." He paused glancing at Hailey. "Then we're going to film you looking pathetic and beat up in your chair and I'll talk about how everyone looses until they're in the game. Understand?" Not waiting for a reply from anyone the Joker gave a nod and pressed the record button. Bob came at Hailey trying to punch her, using her martial arts experience Hailey ducked and rolled to dodge his hits. The other two clowns realized that Bob wasn't going to get a hit in on his own so they joined in. Hailey did her best to get out of the way but three against one when she was already injured was just not fair. Soon they had her against the wall punching and kicking her. The Joker was keeping an eye on the fight making sure his guys didn't try anything her didn't giver them permission to do.

Hailey managed to get away from the wall for a while but soon felt herself being jammed against another one. One of the clowns was holding her arms above her head while the other two beat her up. She could sense the clown holding her arms getting closer and closer to her. Soon she felt his body pressed up against her trying to get closer. The Joker watched waiting to see if the clown would follow orders. The clown's head lowered towards Hailey's neck and she screamed as he bit down on her. He moved his hips against hers causing pain to shoot through Hailey's body. He lifted up one arm and was about to lift up her shirt when he fell lifeless to the floor a knife stuck in his back. Hailey fell to the floor her hands scraping against the cement as she tried to soften her fall. She lay there panting and trying to fight back the tears. Images were running through her head of when she was fifteen. Before she could think about these things anymore the Joker was next to her. He growled and kicked the dead body of the guy who had just tried to rape her. When the Joker had told her he wasn't a rapist he meant it, and he wasn't going to let any of his men become one. Picking up Hailey he left the basement kicking the door open. "Clean up the damn mess!" he shouted to his men, he didn't glance back as he walked up the stairs with Hailey clinging to him

The Joker brought her up back to his room and lied her down on his bed. She seemed almost unresponsive. The only time she would move was if he moved quickly towards her, then she would flinch and move away. To the Joker it seemed as if she were lost in her thoughts. The Joker dragged himself away from her reluctantly and went to look at the tape. Part of him wanted to comfort her, the other part wanted to hit her for making him feel confused. He settled for watching her be hit.


	3. In A Different World

Back at MCU the officers had come back from hours of searching for the Joker. They had looked at almost half of the warehouses in Gotham, and had found no trace of the Joker, his men, or Hailey. "Poor Gordon," One of the men spoke, "this hasn't been an easy year for him. First his wife and his younger kids get threatened, and now Hailey."

"Poor Gordon?" another asked, "Poor Hailey, she's had it worst than most. First the mob went after her when she was only fifteen, and she still won't tell us what happened. After that there were countless threats made by the mob, which is why she went to college far away, and now the Joker has her! If she was so traumatized by the mob, it must be worse with the Joker." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We'll keep on looking tomorrow, if Gordon asks tell him we might have some leads, don't let him loose hope, or know how little of a chance we have at finding her." Marty said almost choking up. Marty was Gordon's best friend and had known Hailey all of her life, she was like a niece to him; this was affecting him almost as much as it was affecting Gordon. "Go on home guys and rest up, we've got another hard day ahead of us."

All of the officers nodded and went home thinking about Hailey and wishing there was more they could do.

Hailey woke up on a soft bed, she smiled and tried cuddled into the blankets when a wave of pain washed over her body. She groaned and curled into a ball trying to protect herself from whatever was going on. Opening her eyes she remembered where she was and curled up even tighter. She heard footsteps coming and immediately straightened out, ignoring the pain. She was not going to let this monster beat her, or see that he had hurt her. _But he's not a monster_ part of her said, _he's better than the mob, maybe he's not such a bad guy after all_. "No!" Hailey shouted at herself. The footsteps were getting closer to her, well the Joker's room. "He's evil, he kidnapped me, took me away from my family, I hadn't even done anything." She tried to reason with herself. _But he saved you. _Her mind spoke again. _He saved you twice_. Before Hailey could reply the door was slammed open.

"Good Morning Princess!" Hailey looked up and saw the Joker standing there in his normal purple suit. "Make yourself look pretty cause you're gonna be on the six O'clock news!" He smiled showing his yellow teeth and stretching his scars hidden beneath the layer of red paint.

"I thought you already had the footage." Hailey spoke, sounding a lot braver than she actually felt.

"No, I only have part of the footage, I still need you tied to a chair looking pitiful and me rambling on about how stupid the people of Gotham are." The Joker replied.

"So you admit that you ramble." Hailey smirked.

"Ye- wait No! I do not ramble." The Joker snapped.

"That's not what you said." Hailey replied in a singsong voice.

"I don't care what I said! I- stop trying to rile me up, I'm going to film you! Now come on!" The Joker yelled and grabbed Hailey by the arm, painfully pulling her out the door and into the darkened hallway. He pushed her into a room and tied her down onto a chair. "Now princess just sit here and look pitiful while I _talk_ about the people of Gotham." The Joker said emphasizing the word talk instead of ramble.

The Joker turned on the video camera and stood in front of Hailey. "Hello Gotham!" he proclaimed with his infamous Glasgow smile. "Now, since you all have pitched yourself against Batty, a shame, you've segregated the one person who was trying to help, and now madness is running around!" The joker laughed, it wasn't a pleasant sound. "I have told you all countless times that you need to get in the game, and still you don't listen to me! So here is another example of what will happen to you and your family if you don't listen to me." The Joker picked up the camera and turned it towards Hailey. "You see, even the great police commissioner can't keep his daughter safe, what makes you think that the rest of you can? Look what I have done in a little over 24 hours. And Hailey has a strong spirit which most of you lack. Unless you want me to have to kidnap even more people join me in this world." The Joker finished turning the camera to get a closer look of Hailey and laughing hysterically.

The Joker turned to Hailey who was looking at him thoughtfully. "You know, you always said how you were a man of your word. You seem to pride yourself in that respect." Hailey noted. The Joker nodded not understanding where she was going with this. "You promised my father that if he let you go you would return me, but I'm still here, what does that say about you? One of the things you prize about yourself the most, is your honesty, somewhat twisted, but you're always honest, why stop now?"

"I- you, it's not the same." The joker finished in a fluster.

"Why not? Just because you don't want it to be?" Hailey asked. She didn't seem to be meaning to goat him on, she was honestly curious.

"I saved you! Twice!" The Joker shouted.

"Once accidentally, and you think that justifies you to keep me here breaking your word?"

"I'm not going to discuss the philosophy and motives behind my actions with you!" The Joker yelled.

"Okay, sorry I was just wondering." Hailey responded truthfully.

The Joker looked at her confusion written on his face. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" He asked her.

"Does that bother you?" Hailey responded a smirk gracing her lips.

"A little, yes." The Joker admitted.

"I'm not as afraid as a normal person would be because you are not the worst that I have witnessed. Besides your physical abuse you are actually almost a gentleman. You treat me as a lady, in your own twisted kind of way." Hailey said.

"What do you mean? I'm not a gentleman!" The Joker screamed at her. He stalked over to her and untied her hands. "You're really annoying and pushy, has anyone ever told you that before toots?" He snarled in her ear.

"The pushy part yes." Hailey replied honestly. The Joker just growled and threw her back into his room slamming the door behind him. Hailey shrugged and thanked God he hadn't hit her, she had really taken a chance there, unfortunately it hadn't worked, but she hadn't really lost anything either. Hailey looked out the window and saw that it was still hours until nightfall. Rummaging through the drawers she found paper and pencil so decided to draw to amuse herself. She was going into anthropology but loved to draw on the side. She decided to draw the remains of a woman who had been murdered. It was a case she had been able to help on.

Hailey started with how the woman had been found; while she hadn't been there she had looked at many pictures. The woman was stripped of all clothes, signaling that she had been raped, and had all told seven stab wounds, four by her chest, two on her right arm, and one on her right thigh. Her hair was blonde, just past shoulder length. The sketch took Hailey about an hour and a half. She then moved onto what the bones looked like once cleaned. There was a stress fracture on her right wrist, and her skull was broken on the right side towards the back, signaling that she had not seen the attacker and been surprised by him.

This sketch took quiet a long time, a total of between three and four hours. Hailey then wrote notes by all of her pictures explaining what everything was, the assumptions made from the bones and which ones had been correct. She included pretty much all of the information about the case. By the time she was finished it was dark outside, and with nothing else to do she decided to go to sleep.

A couple hours later the Joker walked into the room and changed into a T-shirt and boxers. Walking over to his bed he saw the pictures that Hailey had drawn. "A Naked woman?" He asked himself laughing. "Didn't see that one coming." He then continued to read the descriptions she provided on the case. The Joker was trembling with anger when he read the part about the women being raped. That was just wrong, you could terrorize people, hurt them, even kill them, but you did NOT rape! With that angry thought in mind he went to bed, keeping his distance from Hailey. Within a few moments he was asleep.

The next morning the Joker woke up with his arms around Hailey, and her curled in towards him. He couldn't help the thought that this was nice, and maybe he was missing out because of what he did. Immediately he shook the idea from his head, but he couldn't help it whenever he looked at her. It was similar to the feeling her had when he had carried her upstairs after his guys had hit her. The Joker came to a conclusion; she couldn't stay here. If she asks he would just say that he was a man of his word, and although her return was somewhat delayed he had kept his promise, as he always does. He would never ever mention that it was because she made him want to change.

Not wanting her to wake up and see them like this he slowly got out of the bed and changed into his normal attire. Before he walked out of the room he bent over and kissed her on the forehead. "Maybe princess, in a better world, and if I weren't like this," He motioned to his scars, "We could have been together." With that he left the room. He walked downstairs and told the guys that once she was awake to take her and drop her off at home. After that he stormed out of the house, he needed to either hit, cut, or shoot something.

Hailey woke up after having a really weird dream. She had been in the Jokers arms and he had said that if things were different, maybe they could have been together. Shaking this thought from her head she got up and went for the door, surprisingly it was unlocked. Hailey hesitantly made her way forward through the building. When she turned a corner she ran into a man who stood at roughly 6'2.

"You must be Hailey, the boss said to come with me." Hailey didn't really trust this guys, but in the manner he spoke it didn't really leave room for arguing. She followed behind him and was surprised to be led to a garage.

"Are we going somewhere?" Hailey asked concerned. Was she going to die, was this guy going to take her to some secluded area and kill her then hide her body, or send it to her parents as the Joker's sick way of 'giving' her back?

"The Joker said to tell you that he always keeps his promises. I'm going to have to put this on you." The man produced a blindfold and rapped it around Hailey's eyes.

"Um not that I don't appreciate it but why are you being so nice to me, the other guys I've met just wanted to beat me up." Hailey questioned.

"Those were the newer guys, the Joker gets them every couple of months. But some of us, like myself, have been around since close to the beginning. The Joker isn't all evil, I mean he saved my life." The man paused as he opened the car door for Hailey before climbing into the drivers seat. "This wasn't the life I would have originally chosen for myself." He explained. "I was top of my class in high school and got accepted into Harvard medical school where I was for three years. But I was forced by some people to do drugs once, and I became addicted. My grades started to slip and the teachers were worried. Eventually my grades were so bad that I got kicked out. My parents couldn't believe it that their son got kicked out of college. They disowned me and refused to think of me as their own. So I lived on the streets for a couple months, until the Joker found me. He took me in as his first guy and got me to stop doing drugs, something that multiple foundations had failed to do. The Joker saved my life, and I won't ever forget that, so now I work as his doctor and do research. I'm an inside kind of guy so I don't go on the missions, the Joker thinks I'm too important to loose. Something that my parents obviously don't agree with." The guy finished talking as he pulled up to Hailey's house, He reached up and took off the blindfold. "Welcome home." With that he lightly pushed her out of the car and drove off, leaving her standing in front of the place she thought she would never see again, her home.

Jim Gordon woke up late that morning 9 o'clock. When he was finally ready to head out he opened the door and saw a sight he never thought he would see again. "Hailey?" He breathed not daring to believe it.

"Hi dad." Hailey replied smiling before running up her porch and enveloping her father in a hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Gordon choked out. He pulled back from the hug to look at her. "You're hurt." He commented painfully. "That bastard!" He yelled. "You need to go to the hospital, and then the station. Oh God Hailey I thought I lost you!"

"You know I'm too strong to let the Joker keep me from my family." Hailey smiled. "But before the hospital I need to see mom, Jimmy, and Jamie."

"You're right of course we've all been worried sick." Gordon replied guiding Hailey inside. "Barbra! Get the kids down here!" Gordon yelled. Soon Barbra and the two kids were walking down the stairs.

"Jim, what's going on why di-" Barbra cut herself off when she saw Hailey. She ran down the stairs and hugged her daughter, something she had feared she would never be able to do. "Oh my God. You're all right, you're okay. Oh my God." She cried. Once she pulled away Hailey was attacked by her brother and sister.

"Hailey!" they screamed together. "We told them that you would come back!"

"Yeah you took training!" Jamie said.

"We new you'd kick their buts!" Jimmy added smiling.

"Well I'd never let them keep me from you guys. Hailey replied smiling. "But I need to go to the hospital so dad will stop freaking out and then to the police station to file a report okay?" Hailey said bending down to talk to them.

"I guess." They replied.

"All right dad, let's go." Hailey said heading towards the car. The family followed, Hailey and Gordon in one car and Barbra and the kids in another.

"Hailey I know you'll be asked these questions at the station but I would like to know first. How did you get out?" Gordon asked softly, afraid of upsetting his daughter.

"He let me go." Hailey explained. Seeing her father's shocked face she elaborated. "Yesterday I had told him that he had broken his promise to you and that he seemed to always pride himself with telling the truth. Then this morning I woke up and the door was open, so I went down stairs where I ran into one of his guys. He told me to follow him, and I didn't really have an option so I did. He put a blindfold over me and told me that the Joker says he always keeps his promises." Hailey finished. She left out the part about the guy's history because she was still trying to figure out what that meant about the Joker.

"Wait, he let you go?" Gordon asked in shock.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you are, but he did." Hailey told her father. "Dad, don't you think you should contact MCU to let them know that I'm all right, I'm sure they could use a break."

"All right? Hailey have you seen yourself? You've got bruises and cuts an-" Gordon stopped talking with a look from his daughter. "You're right one moment." He picked up his cell phone and called up MCU. "Hello Marty? Yes, no everything is fine. In fact it's great!" he paused as if interrupted. "No we don't have the Joker's location, we have something better. We have Hailey." The relief was eminent in Gordon's voice. "I'm bringing her to the hospital to be looked at then down to the station to see what information we can get." He paused again. "Thank you I'll see you in a couple hours." Then he hung up.

"A couple hours dad? Really? The doctors are going to look at me tell me nothing is broken and to take it easy for a while." Hailey joked.

"I just want to make sure." Gordon told his daughter pulling into the hospital parking lot. Just as Hailey expected she had no broken bones, she did have a lot of bruising. When the doctors discovered the gash they were surprised how well it was done, even more surprised to find out the Joker had patched her up. Gordon almost punched somebody when he saw the bite mark on Hailey's neck. Hailey assured her dad that nothing else of that kind had happened. "Dad he's a mass murderer not a rapist." She said quoting the Joker from earlier. "He actually shot the guy dead who did this." Everyone was shocked by this statement, and even though Gordon hated this man, he hated him a little less now.

Throughout the entire process Hailey was trying to remain distant, she didn't want to remember the last time she had been captured. Oddly enough that had been worse than this time. After checking out at the hospital they headed over to MCU. The entire way Gordon was trying to tell Hailey what was going to happen. "I know the questions may be uncomfortable but they're only trying to help and-"

"Dad I know, I've been through this before, and honestly last time was worse." Hailey interrupted.

"Right, sorry." Gordon replied. The rest of the ride was quiet.


	4. Coming Home

When Hailey got to MCU everybody crowded around her to welcome her back, Marty was close to tears. "We were worried we wouldn't get you back this time." He choked out.

Hailey smiled at him, "You think the Joker could keep me away from you guys?" she replied. Everyone in the room laughed, glad that Hailey didn't seem withdrawn like she had last time. "Not to be rude, but I'm tired so can we get the questioning done and I'll come visit tomorrow?" Hailey asked yawning.

"Oh, of course!" Marty answered. "Just follow me into this room right here." He said motioning to his office. "Okay Hailey," he began once she was seated. "When did the Joker take you?" Marty asked.

"He took me from my job at 7/11. It was around 2 O'clock. He came in with some of his goons and shot up into the air. He said he wanted me, I wanted to go right away but my manager said to wait, but he threatened a little boy, so I had to go. Then supposedly he 'liked' me and-" She was cut off by Marty.

"He liked you?" disgust was evident in his voice. "Do you know why?"

"Probably because I snapped back at him, I went out on a limb that he wasn't going to kill me and ran my mouth. So he took me. I fought but, he's really strong which I wasn't expecting, and he had a knife o my throat. Anyway I was blindfolded and thrown into the back of a trunk. I don't know when I was knocked out but when I came to I was tied to a chair and a couple of minutes later I was on the phone with my dad." Hailey spoke distantly; she had figured out years ago that, that was the best way to go through retelling a traumatizing story. She stopped, waiting to see if Marty had any questions.

"What did you say exactly to the Joker when you snapped back?" Marty questioned.

"He had asked me if I knew how he got his scars and I retorted 'does anybody', then listed off all of these stories he's said that I've heard of. I also told him that if was going to kill me he would have done it already." Hailey finished. "Kind of a dumb thing in retrospect." She added as an after thought.

"And what happened after you got off the phone with your dad?" Marty asked, sympathy eminent in his voice.

"Well I was left tied to the chair for a while until the Joker came in. He told me that the mob had blown up the 7/11 I work at a couple hours after he had taken me, claiming that he had saved me and that I owe him. I objected to that statement. He untied me and I tried to get away but, obviously, that didn't work. I told him my dad would find him, but he didn't believe me. I told him that Harv-" Hailey stopped herself remembering that Marty didn't know about Harvey.

"Harvey? What about Harvey?" Marty prompted.

"That…he…believed…in good. And that he died defending that belief which goes to show the good…in this town…so he won't get away with what he is doing." Hailey lied making it up as she went along.

"That's very brave of you Hailey." Marty said, treating her like she was fifteen all over again.

"Then he took me up to his room and cleaned up my cut and bruises that his guys had given me. I went to sleep and when I woke u he wasn't there. He came in soon after telling me that I roll around in my sleep which is really annoying." Hailey almost laughed at the memory, the Joker had said it so simply like it was a normal thing for a kidnapper to say.

"How did he know this?" Marty asked.

This was what Hailey had been regretting; she knew that everyone would flip shit when they learned that she had shared a bed with the Joker. "Well, he kinda slept in the same bed as me." Hailey responded slowly dreading the reaction to come.

"He. Did. What?" Marty yelled. For some reason Hailey felt the need to protect the Joker.

"But he didn't do anything! And when his men were beating me up for the camera and this one guy tried to kiss me-" Again Hailey was cut off.

"One guy tried to kiss you?" Marty screamed. "Okay I think we're done here, unless you know were the Joker is this questioning is just routine. And this is just making me madder and madder." Marty replied evenly.

Hailey was going to protest but realized how ridiculous that sounded, trying to defend the Joker, he really had rubbed off on her. There was no reason to defend him, he killed hundreds of innocent people. _But he didn't kill you. In fact he was kind to you._ Part of her argued with herself. Hailey shook these thoughts from her head and walked out of the office, ready to go home.

"Everything go alright?" Gordon asked his daughter as she exited the room.

"I think Marty was actually more upset about the whole thing than I was." Hailey replied truthfully. Gordon was about to reply when Hailey cut him off. "I don't really want to talk about it right now dad, can I just sleep on the way home?"

"Of course you can, talk to me when you're ready." Gordon replied smiling at his daughter. Hailey spent the rest of the rise trying to fall asleep, but she couldn't get her mind to shut up! Finally they reached home and Hailey walked in the door. It was only about 2 O'clock so Jamie and Jimmy were still up. Hailey went over to their playroom where they were currently playing with a train set Hailey had bought them for Christmas.

"Hey guys miss me?" Hailey asked her siblings.

"Hailey!" they squealed. "Come play with us!"

"Alright, that train set does look very cool." Hailey joked.

"You bought it for us silly." Jamie replied giving Hailey a look that clearly showed she didn't understand Hailey was joking.

"Did I really?" Hailey asked playing along. "Nah, I'd never spend that much money in you guys would I?"

"Yes! Yes you would!" Jimmy replied. "Remember for my birfday you got me that hot wheel set, when I saw it at the store it was fifty dollars!" He replied smiling.

"Yeah! And you got me that American girl doll F'licty." Jamie added mispronouncing Felicity's name.

"Oh, well I guess you guys are just lucky then!" Hailey beamed at them. They may not be her children but they were her pride and joy.

"Are your ouchies okay?" Jamie asked her looking at a bruise on Hailey's face.

"Yes I'll be better soon." Hailey replied smiling at how much they cared.

"Can I see your booboo?" Jimmy asked Hailey. Hailey's smile faltered as she remembered how the Joker had asked the same thing. _Remember he was nice to you_. Her mind told her. _Obviously he cares._ No! No he doesn't care he's a psychopath! She yelled at herself. "Hailey?" Jimmy asked again.

"What? Oh um sure." Hailey pulled up her shirt a little to show some more bruising, but not enough so they saw the stitches, they were just kids after all.

"Whoa! And you beat the bad guys?" Jimmy asked.

"Something like that." Hailey smiled. The rest of the time until dinner Hailey spent with Jimmy and Jamie playing with trains, hot wheels, and American girl dolls, which Hailey will of course never mention to Jimmy's friends.

Dinner was awkward, both Jim and Barbra wanted to ask Hailey about what had happened, Jimmy and Jamie thought the entire thing was cool, and Hailey didn't want to talk about it because part of her mind refused to see the Joker as a bad guy. Finally Hailey broke the silence, "So, besides looking for me what have you guys been up to?" She asked awkwardly.

"Well, I've been finishing my degree online, so I should graduate within the next month." Barbra said. She had completed college but wanted to become a teacher, so went back online.

"That's awesome mom!" Hailey replied truly happy for her mother.

"Thank you sweety." Barbra replied. The conversation would have lapsed back into an awkward silence had Jimmy not spoken up.

"Hailey, in my summer school we have to do a report on our role model, and if it's someone we know bring them in to school. It's due next week and I want you to be my role model, will you come in?" Jimmy asked shyly.

"Of course I will!" Hailey smiled broadly. This week had not been good, but that comment pretty much made up for it.

"Okay, it'll be next Friday." Jimmy explained.

"I'll be there." Hailey promised. After dinner Hailey excused herself and went up to bed. However sleep never came, the vision a white face with black eyes and red smeared lips came to her whenever she closed her eyes. About a half hour later Barbra came in to check on her daughter.

"Hey there, how are you holding up?" Barbra asked softly.

"I don't know." Hailey replied honestly. "I feel like I should feel worse than I do, I mean I know that he's a bad man, he's murdered people! A lot of people!" Hailey paused to collect herself. "But, at the same time, he wasn't that bad to me, the mob was worse." Hailey explained. Barbra stayed silent; this was really the first time that Hailey had ever talked about her time as a hostage with the mob. " He was almost nice to me, I mean I wasn't tied up when he was there, and he stitched me up from when the guys hit me, and he stopped this guy from raping me, all the guy did was bite my neck and the Joker he, he shot him. It was weird, it was like he protecting me, even though I was his hostage. And I had a bathroom, and a bed! A really nice bed, well it was his but he shared it with me! And he never hurt me. Not once, it was always his men, never him directly." Hailey finished in almost a whisper.

Barbra stayed silent now, not because she wanted to hear what Hailey had to say, but because she had nothing to say. "Hailey…" She started, "I understand that this must have been awful for you and that you're clearly still affected by last time with the mob, which makes me think you may be judging this differently than you normally would. With that being said, I really think you should talk to someone, not me, a professional." Barbra spoke carefully.

"What? No! No I don't need to see a shrink!" Hailey practically yelled. "It didn't work last time, and it won't work last time." She told her mother.

"Hailey, you were younger then, you're more mature now, I do believe you can handle it."

"No, mom, please." Hailey almost begged. "Please don't tell anyone. I just need to work through some things, it's just the shock setting in, I'll be back to normal after a couple days, just please don't tell anyone, especially dad, you know he'd flip out." Hailey's voice ached with every plea.

"Hailey, honey, I don't know. Are you sure this isn't just Stockholm syndrome or something?" Barbra asked softly.

"Yes I'm sure I'll be fine." Hailey replied quickly.

Barbra sighed, "Okay, I'll give you one day, and if you aren't starting to be back to normal, I'm telling you're father." She relented. Hailey smiled and nodded. Barbra left the room and Hailey was finally able to sleep. However her night was far from restful. All she could think about was that weird dream she had had earlier that day when she had woken up.

In the dream Hailey noticed that she rather liked cuddling up to the Joker, and that she wished he had kissed her lips rather than he forehead. And those lines he had spoken, kept echoing in her head; _Maybe in a different world we could be together._ When Hailey woke up she found herself mumbling those words, as if trying to comfort herself.


	5. Surprise Party

Memo: Hey guys I'm so sorry it's taken me o long to update, this has been the most hectic month so far. With seven musical things to practice, plus high school, time to write is very limited, luckily I was having a really bad morning and my dad let me stay home for the first half of the day. I hope you guys like this. Please remember to review!

The Joker had waited until noon before going back to his hideout to be sure that Hailey was gone. Now it was four O'clock and he was pacing back and forth in his room, trying to decide what to do that night. It had to be something big, he couldn't have people thinking that he was going soft just because he let Hailey go. The other reason, which he would never admit to, was that he needed something to get his mind off of Hailey.

A knock on the door an hour or two later brought the Joker out of his musings. "Boss?" he heard the voice of Doc call. Had it been anyone else he probably would have shot them.

"What?" he growled at the door.

"It's six O'clock and you haven't eaten anything since yesterday, so I made some dinner." Doc responded, used to his boss's moods. The door slammed open and the Joker stormed out, still upset that he couldn't figure out what to do.

"Well what is it?" The Joker asked.

"Steak mashed potatoes and green beans." Doc answered. Because of Doc's old life he was very particular about what the Joker and the regular guys ate. The monthly clowns were not really that important because, well they were monthly guys, why feed a guy well if he's going to die soon anyway?

"How?" The Joker's one word question wouldn't make sense to the normal person, but Doc had been with him from the beginning and consequently knew what the Joker meant.

Doc's reply of "medium rare" was met with a grunt of approval from the Joker who then headed down the stairs.

When the Joker got downstairs he headed into the kitchen where he knew the food was. Upon entering the room he saw one of his clowns eating some of the steak. Without giving it a second thought the Joker threw a knife at him and he fell down dead. The Joker walled over, picked up his knife, and wiped it off on the guy's shirt before returning it to its proper position in his pocket.

"It's times like these that I'm glad I'm not a monthly clown." Doc spoke up, having followed the Joker. The Joker smiled at this comment and sat down at the table.

"What do you think we should do tonight?" The Joker asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Blow something up?" Doc replied.

"No, it has to be something, uh, big." Joker mused.

"Wayne has a party, but that's tomorrow night." Doc responded.

"Well we'll blow something up tonight, then attack the party tomorrow." The Joker decided.

"Hailey, on we need to leave for the party." Barbra called up the stairs.

"Why do I have to go?" Hailey replied frustrated. She hated these parties, her family wasn't one of the elite, the only reason these people knew who they were, was because of the Joker; someone she didn't want to think about. Or at least that's what she told herself.

"Because Bruce is dedicating this part to you." Barbra replied for the hundredth time.

"Fine!' Hailey relented descending the stairs. She was wearing a strapless midnight blue gown that reached the floor. It fit snugly above the waist and flowed down from the hips. Hailey's hair was up in a bun with some loosely curled strands of hair framing her face.

"Hailey, you look wonderful." Gordon commented when he saw her. She blushed and looked down.

"I don't want to be stared at all night." Hailey grumbled.

"Well, you better get used to it because all of the men there won't be able to keep their eyes off you." Barbara said fondly smiling at her oldest daughter. "Let's go."

The car ride to Wayne's pent house was uneventful; Hailey fidgeted the entire ride, trying to keep her nerves in check. Finally after what felt like hours, but was really only twenty minutes they arrived. The party started at seven and they arrived with just minutes to spare.

Alfred was waiting for them at the door and led them up to where the party was being held. There were only a few people there, mostly the elderly people who couldn't stay for the entire time so tried to compensate by being early. Hailey looked around desperately for someone she knew, her parents had already left her to go talk to some people they knew. Luckily she soon spotted Bruce and made a beeline for him. Bruce was in a conversation with one of his employees Luscious Fox, when he saw her coming he immediately stopped the conversation to greet her.

"Miss Gordon you look lovely this evening." Bruce smiled as he kissed her hand. Hailey laughed at the formality; that was a typical Bruce thing to do.

"Why thank you, you look wonderful yourself." She replied playing along.

"Well, one must keep up appearances." He replied. "Luscious you know Hailey, Hailey this is Luscious, the brains behind the organization." Bruce said fondly.

"Nice to see you again Luscious." Hailey replied.

"Thank you, good to see you again as well." Luscious replied, he nodded at Bruce and walked away.

"Luscious and I were discussing some business before the rest of the guests arrived." Bruce explained to Hailey.

"So just how many people did you invite?" Hailey asked nervously, she really wasn't a people person, and her social skills left something to be desired.

"The usual crowd," Bruce replied. After a look from Hailey he added, "I never really know, Alfred is in charge of the guest list, I don't really enjoy these parties, but I need to keep up my appearance." He explained. Hailey smiled; maybe Bruce wasn't so bad after all.

"Not to be a downer or anything, but do you have any extra security incase…" Hailey let her sentence trail off but Bruce understood her concern.

"I have taken extra precautions to limit the possibility." He explained. Hailey let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Ok, that's good." She said faking a smile. "So, what does one do at these parties?"

"Talk, pretend that you're interested in whatever someone is talking about, and eventually get drunk so you actually think that you're interested in what's going on." Bruce smirked.

"Oo, seems like so much fun," Hailey laughed. "I like the last part." She added with a smile.

"That's my favorite part." Bruce agreed.

"I don't suppose anyone here is all that interested in discussing anthropology." Hailey stated.

"I highly doubt many people really know what that means." Bruce laughed. By this time many more people had arrived. "Come on, we have to complete phase one before we gat to the fun part of the night." Bruce guided Hailey over to a group of people who looked closer to Bruce's age than the elderly people whom Hailey had seen.

"Hailey, I'd like you to meet Andrew Stone, manager of the New York Times; his wife Helen; Jason Richmond, the best contractor in all of Gotham; William Style, owner of Style industry; and his wife Susan. Everyone, this is Hailey Gordon." Hailey waved shyly, not really sure what she was supposed to do.

"It's nice to meet all of you." She said smiling.

"What is it that you do?" Andrew asked her. Hailey looked up at Bruce, a small smile gracing her lips before she answered.

"I'm training to be a forensic anthropologist."

"I see," Andrew replied, clearly not 'seeing' at all.

"Basically I look at bones to identify the person and tell what happened to them, if they died from a natural cause or murder, and so on." Hailey cut herself short; she was known to ramble on about her job. 'No not rambling' she told herself, 'just discussing in detail.' Hailey was reminded about when she told the Joker he rambled; she started to smile but quickly shook the thought from her mind. She wasn't supposed to think about him, she especially wasn't supposed to think about him and smile.

"That's very interesting." Helen responded; she actually seemed to be telling the truth. "Have you had any recent cases?"

"Yes actually, we found this women who had been stabbed seven times, had a stress fracture on her wrist and a crack in the back of the skull. In all likely hood she had been," Hailey struggled to find an eloquent way of putting it.

"Raped." Helen supplied.

Hailey smiled, "Yes, I wasn't quiet sure how I should phrase it. Anyway, we were able to determine the murder weapon by the shape of the wound and the particulates found in the wounds. By doing a facial reconstruction I was able to match the victim to the missing person data base." Hailey explained. Looking around she realized that the rest of the group had gone off by themselves to mingle with other people. "Sorry, I tend to ramble on, my social skills aren't the best." Hailey apologized to Helen.

"That's fine, I'd much rather talk to someone who is smart and actually does something for society rather than the people who just inherited all their money and power. I married into 'this'," Helen gestured around the room, "I actually come from a common background."

"Oh thank God, I thought I was the only one." Hailey laughed.

Just then Bruce stood up to make a speech. "Welcome everyone and thank you all for coming. I would like to introduce to you the person this party is dedicated to, Hailey Gordon. Hailey?" Bruce waved her over. Hailey walked over to where he was standing felling extremely self-conscious. "On behalf of everyone I am very glad that you are safe again. Further more, I would like to guarantee that the Joker-" Bruce was cut off by the sound of gunfire and screaming. Bruce tried to say something, probably 'stay calm' but the crowd was already in a panic. Bruce left quickly to go get his batman suit, hopefully Gordon wouldn't arrest him, maybe act like he was trying to, but not really.

Hailey was paralyzed with fear, not fear of her life, or that the Joker would hurt her, but what she was going to do when she saw him, or what he was going to do when he saw her. It didn't take long for her to find out.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman. Did you miss me?" Hailey didn't even need to see the man to know it was the Joker. "I just have one question, where is Bruce?" He paused. "Hm? This is his party isn't it?" He walked up to Andrew, "Do you know where he is?" Andrew didn't even reply, he just stood there shaking. "Do you know how I got my scars?" The Joker asked pulling out a knife.

Hailey couldn't just stand by and watch him possibly hurt Andrew, she like Helen too much to let that happen, so she said the first thing that came to mind, "Does anybody?" The Joker let go of Andrew, who practically fainted, and faced the direction he had heard her response. He stared walking over to her and it was at this point that Hailey started to think that maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut and just wait and see what would have happened.

"Too late now," she mumbled to herself. She folded her arms across her chest and waited for the Joker to come.

"Well hello beautiful, miss me?" The Joker asked laughing.

Hailey didn't respond, not because she was afraid, but because she honestly wasn't really sure of her answer. She opted for changing the subject. "What are you doing here Joker?" She asked keeping a calm and steady voice.

"Just out looking for a fun time." He responded smiling. He went to brush a strand of hair away from Hailey's face he was cut off by Hailey.

"I thought you were a mass murderer not a rapist."

"I don't think brushing hair out of your face would be considered rape." The Joker replied.

"It's a slippery slope." Hailey retorted. The Joker snorted at that.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked me." The Joker smiled showing his yellow teeth.

Hailey didn't let her panic show responding, "You seem to have an obsession with Bruce's parties, have a crush?" Hailey realized too late that that probably wasn't the best thing to say to a crazy clown. The Joker growled and swung at her, she managed to side step him, but her range of motion was limited by the stupid dress. The Joker grabbed at her again, Hailey tried to get away but tripped over the hem of the dress. The Joker grabbed her neck and held a knife up to her throat.

"That was not a smart thing to say." He growled at her. Hailey didn't even register that he had spoken; she was too busy thinking that normally this is the part where Batman comes in and saves the day.

'But everyone hates him, maybe he won't come because he's afraid of being caught. Even Batman has to choose his battles.'

"Listen. To. Me!" the Joker growled at her slapping her across the face. "Now I'm going to ask you a question again, and answer it differently this time." The Joker paused to let the words sink in. "Do you know how I got these scars?" Before Hailey could answer the Joker was pulled back and thrown onto the floor.


	6. Promises and Dark Alleys

Memo: Sorry its taken me so long I've had so many auditions going on I've had no time to write. But Finally I've gotten another chapter out and hopefully will have time to write more this weekend. As Always rating and comments are always appreciated. So a recap of the past chapter, Hailey got home and then went to Bruce's party which was then crashed by the Joker. Hailey as always couldn't keep her nouth shut and brought attention to herself and the Joker had a knife to her throat because she was being sarcastic and then he got knocked down

Hailey scrambled away from the fight. Batman seemed to be pissed off, he was really beating the Joker up. The Joker however seemed to be enjoying himself greatly, he was laughing and jumping away with agility. "Come on batsy, is that all you've got?" He taunted breaking out into laughter.

"You're not getting away this time Joker." Batman growled as he lunged towards him. Once again the Joker leaped to the side and tripped Batman. Batman rolled on the floor and got up quickly resuming the fight. Hailey looked around and saw that the clowns were still holding guns to people, making sure they wouldn't leave.

'There's no way Batman can win this.' Hailey thought to herself. 'No matter how good he is.' Hailey moved over towards one of the clowns forming a plan in her mind. She ripped a slit in her dress so that it was easier to maneuver in, coming up behind a clown she tapped him on the back, he turned around pointing the gun at her. Before he could shoot she had already ducked and swiped her legs under tripping the clown and causing him to fall. Hailey quickly grabbed his gun and knocked him out. She moved on to the other clowns, however now she had lost the element of surprise, as soon as she got close the clowns started shooting at her. Hailey patiently waited until the next clown was out of ammo before attacking him. She was about to move onto the next clown when she heard laughter.

"Look at my girl go. You show them toots!" The Joker laughed watching her. Hailey looked and saw that Batman was on the ground, he was hurt, why didn't the Joker finish him off, isn't that what he wanted? Hailey looked over at the Joker and glared at him, he just winked at her and smiled, strangely this caused butterflies to appear in her stomach, shoving the feeling down she concentrated on taking down the clowns. The Joker shot his gun into the air and the clowns started exiting the building. Before the Joker left he came up to Hailey and kissed her full out on the lips. Hailey started to respond to the kiss before realizing that it was the Joker and shoving him away. Joker flashed his famous Glasgow smile and walked out the door laughing all the way.

Hailey sank to the floor shaking, the room was in chaos, people had been injured by the shootings, but luckily no one had been killed. Hailey realized that the Batman was still here, and knowing that he was good didn't want people to find out who he was. She crawled over to him through the crowd and tried to wake him up. "Hey, c'mon, Gotham's hero can't just pass out, wake up!" She shook him. Time was running out, sooner or later everyone would realize he was still here. She heard him moan and open his eyes. "You need to work on your dodging skills." Hailey told him quickly helping him up. Batman didn't say anything, he just looked at her. "He's gone, and you need to leave." Hailey told him leading him away from the crowd and towards a window.

"Was anyone hurt?" He asked in his gruff voice.

"Not severely," Hailey answered, not wanting to make him feel bad. "Now go out the window so no one sees you." Hailey shoved him to the window before turning around and walking away from him.

"Hailey!" Gordon shouted running over to his daughter. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you I swear I'll kill him!" Gordon ranted.

"I'm fine dad, I'm fine." Hailey replied. In reality she was far from fine, she felt like her head had exploded and the Joker had kissed her….KISSED HER!

"Let's go home." Barbara said leading Hailey and Gordon out of the building. The look in Barbara's eyes indicated that they were going to be having a long talk when they got home. The car ride home was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Hailey was lost in her thoughts, completely confused about the night's events. Gordon was fuming, the Joker had gotten to his girl again! Barbara was concerned by what she had witnessed, she had seen the kiss, and that Hailey had not immediately pushed him away. This had reinforced her earlier fears that Hailey had been more affected by the experience than she had let on.

When they got home Hailey tried to sneak up to her room, but her parents called her down. She was dreading this, her mom had promised she wouldn't tell, and Hailey had gotten better, she believed that she had put up a good show of pretending it was just the initial shock. Barbara however was not to be fooled. Hailey walked into the kitchen to see her parents sitting at the table. Her mother motioned for her to join them and Hailey reluctantly sat down.

"Hailey, we're worried about you." Barbara said as soon as Hailey sat down. "The Joker seems to have some sort of an obsession with you, and we think it might be affecting you." Hailey tried to speak but was cut off by her father.

"Now honey, we know you don't like to talk about things like this but it's really important that you tell someone everything. We feel like you're withholding information about your capture." Once again Hailey opened her mouth to speak but was beat to it. "We feel awful that you had to go through something like this again and we want to help, talk to us Hailey. Please." Her father begged her.

"I…dad," Hailey didn't know what to say because she was still so confused herself. "Look dad, I'm fine okay? Yeah I'm a little shaken up but it's nothing I can't handle. I'll be fine." As she said this Hailey looked directly at her mother, silently begging her not to tell her father about their previous conversation.

Gordon sighed heavily, "All right Hailey, you're old enough to take care of yourself now, but if you ever want to talk you know that your mother and I are here for you."

"No!" Barbara broke in. "Hailey is obviously not old enough to take care of herself." Hailey shook her head. Her mother could not tell her father. He would make her go to a shrink; she could NEVER go back to a shrink, especially because they would send her to the same one.

"Barbara what do you mean?" Jim asked confused. Barbara had always told him that Hailey was old enough to take care of herself.

"Mom, you promised!" Hailey shouted, how could her mother betray her like this?

"No Hailey, I said if you improved I wouldn't tell him."

"And I haven't improved?" Hailey asked. Her mother hadn't seen the kiss, had she?

"No you have not! I saw you tonight, you were staring at him, he's gotten into your head! You….you kissed him back!" She shouted. The table fell silent, Hailey couldn't believe her mother would betray her like that, or that she had seen the kiss, Gordon was shocked that his wife had kept something from him, and that his daughter had kissed that….that thing, and Barbara was terrified of the look on her daughters face.

Hailey was the first one to speak. "I trusted you." She said in a whisper. "I thought that I could tell you something, come to you with my problems, and always know that you would never betray me."

"Hailey, this man has killed so many people, hurt so many more, I'm worried about you!"

"I can take care of myself!" Hailey snapped, normally she would have felt bad about snapping at her parents, but her emotions were just so mixed up right now.

"Hailey," Gordon spoke softly. "You're mother is right, the Joker is a bad man."

"Well at least he keeps his promises!" Hailey stood up quickly and grabbed her coat. "I'm going to Jenna's, don't try to call me, I won't pick up." With that Hailey stormed out the door.

Hailey honestly had planned on going to Jenna's, but right now she needed to blow off some steam. Sure she felt bad for snapping at her parents, but they were going to send her to a shrink. Hailey shuddered at that thought. In all honesty that had almost been as bad as the mob. Of course Hailey had never told her parents, when she came back form her appointments they assumed she was shaken up because it had been difficult to talk about, and she had been crying because of the mob. Hailey could never tell her parents the truth; they would never let her out of their sight again. 'Besides,' Hailey thought, 'I can take care of myself.' Or at least that's what she thought. Lost in her thoughts Hailey had just been wandering, she now found herself by the docks, a very bad place to be at night. She turned around and came face to face with a man. 'Could this day get any worse?' Hailey asked herself.

She put her head down and tried to walk past, but the man moved to black her way. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked her, his voice was gruff; he obviously drank and smoked way too much.

"Home." Hailey responded evenly although inside her heart was racing. Once again she tried to pass him, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Now why would you want to do that, huh? You'll have much more fun with me." Hailey could feel his breath on her neck, getting closer. Hailey tried to get free from his grasp, using her martial arts and self-defense training, but he was quick, and a lot bigger than she was. Every time she got her arm away her would pull her back, holding on tighter. "C'mon sugar, don't run away, this'll be fun." He said backing her up against a wall. "Trust me, you'll enjoy this." His head moved towards her neck again, and she started to struggle, not the martial arts way, but doing everything in her power to get away. She tried to scream but her voice was cut short by his mouth pressing hungrily against hers, his hips pushed up against hers causing pain to shoot up every inch of her body. Forgetting her tough girl attitude Hailey started to cry. Memories flashed before her eyes, the mob, being pushed around from guy to guy, having her clothes stripped off, and all of them watching, laughing, _mocking_ her. Herself at the shrink's office, spilling everything out, and having him smile, move closer. She thought he was trying to comfort her, but she was been very wrong, he was just like the mob, which made sense because later on she found out he was involved with the mob.

She was brought out of her thoughts when the man bit down on her neck, causing her to scream out, the man slapped her. "Shut up bitch!" he hissed in her ear. "Make this worth my while and I might let you live." He told her. Before she could reply his mouth was on hers again, biting her lip, shoving his tongue into her mouth. Tears were streaming out of Hailey's eyes, it was going to happen again, and no one was going to be looking for her. The man started tearing at her dress, trying to get it off her, or at least partially expose her. "C'mon babe you know you-" Hailey never found out what he was going to say because at that moment the man fell down dead, a knife sticking out of the back of his neck.

Hailey fell to the ground crying, trying to catch her breath. She heard footsteps coming closer; looking up she met the eyes of the person she least expected to see.

The Joker looked down at Hailey, even with her make-up smeared and her dress ripped and dirty, she was still beautiful. The Joker held out his hand without a word and helped Hailey to her feet. He led her around the docks to his van in complete silence. The Joker opened Hailey's door for her and helped her in before climbing into the drivers side. Finally he spoke. "You really are stupid aren't you?" He asked her. This shocked Hailey, she wasn't sure what she expected him to say, but that certainly wasn't it.

"Excuse me?" Hailey asked, coming back to her normal self.

"You were by yourself, in a ripped dress, by the docks at night!" The Joker replied. "Stupidity is the only reason I can think of that would make someone do that.

Hailey just looked up at the Joker. "Thank you." She replied finally getting herself together.

"You're welcome," the Joker replied softly. "What were you doing out anyway?" He asked her.

"I got into a fight with my parents." Hailey explained.

"About what?" The Joker asked, although he had some idea.

"You." Hailey whispered. "They wanted to send me back to the shrink, to _that_ shrink." Hailey shuddered trying not to think about that again.

The Joker looked at her confused. "So…you're scared of a shrink, but not of me?" He asked, this was one weird girl.

"You know how everyone thinks that Harvey was good?" The Joker nodded, "But he turned out to be bad in the end," Once again the Joker nodded. "Same thing with my shrink." Hailey finished. "It's like you said, you're a mass murderer, not a rapist, this guys the opposite." The Joker stopped the car, looking out the window Hailey noticed that they were at his hideout. The Joker was literally shaking with anger, this shrink, who everyone thought was helping Hailey, had touched her, _his _Hailey- The Joker shook his head, no he didn't care about her, she was toy, a very interesting and pretty toy- The Joker stopped himself again and got out of the car.

"C'mon inside I don't want to sit in this damn car forever." He told her getting out of the car. Hailey followed him, not wanting to be left alone.


	7. Secrets Come Out

Hailey felt awkward the moment she stepped into the hideout. 'I'm willingly going into the Joker's, a mass murderer's hideout, there is something wrong with me.' She told herself. The Joker continued walking further into the building finally stopping when he reached the room with all of his clowns. Hailey followed him, unsure of what was about to happen.

"Attention all," the Joker spoke, immediately all the clowns turned to look at him, and to Hailey's displeasure, Hailey. "She is mine, anyone who touches her," The Joker paused to look at each clown, "is dead." he finished threateningly. Hailey was shocked; did he actually care about her? Or does he just think I belong to him and doesn't want other people touching his things? She asked herself, before she could figure it out the Joker grabbed Hailey's hand and led her upstairs. "Does anyone know where you are?" The Joker asked Hailey, closing the door.

"No," She replied, "My parents think I'm at my friends house, and I told them not to call me, and my friend didn't know I was coming." Strangely Hailey didn't feel afraid that no one would be looking for her for a while and that she was with the Joker. _He saved you…again._ Part of her mind told her.

"And you're not afraid?" The Joker asked smiling, but inside he actually was confused, this was the strangest girl he had ever met.

Hailey thought about it, again. "No, I'm not afraid." She finally replied, sitting down on the bed.

The Joker sat down next to her, "And why not?" he prompted.

"Because you're not as bad as the mob." Hailey replied honestly. 'Why am I telling him all of this?' she chastised herself. _Because he's the only one who will listen, who will understand._ Part of her spoke again.

The Joker laughed at Hailey's response. "The people of this lovely city don't seem to think so."

"Because the mob isn't so upfront about what they do as you are." Hailey explained. "Most people have an idea of what the mob does, but don't have any actual evidence of it in their lives, with you," Hailey paused thinking how to phrase this, "With you its all explosions and lets have a social experiment. The People are forced to acknowledge you, they're not forced to acknowledge the mob."

"But you were forced to acknowledge the mob." The Joker responded. Hailey just nodded, not trusting her voice anymore. "How?" He prompted, curious.

"It's a long story." Hailey said not wanting to get into it.

"I'm not going anywhere." The Joker replied. Hailey sighed, she did not want to do this, to relive what had happened to her, and especially not in front of the Joker. Yes she didn't think he would hurt her but she doubted he would comfort her, and it would just be awkward.

"I'm really tired, can't I just sleep?" Hailey asked.

"Uh, no." The Joker replied. "My place, my rules." If Hailey had forgotten that the Joker was a crazy murderer, she was quickly reminded by the look in his eyes.

"Okay!" Hailey said, actually scared for the first time by the Joker. Hailey stopped to think about how to start it. You know in the movies when people say 'just start at the beginning' that doesn't really work. Hailey took a deep breath before starting. "I was fifteen and my dad was working on a case against the mob, had he been able to complete it the mob would have practically been shut down, obviously they didn't like this." Hailey stopped again trying to steady her voice, she had never told anyone exactly what happened…she just couldn't. "The mob decided to threaten him, kind of how you threatened him, except they don't really keep their promises. The mob took me when I was walking home from school, I don't really know what happened, all I remember was when I woke up I was in a cellar. There were no windows and only one door, which, was made out of steel or something and was locked from the outside. I stayed still, I was in shock I didn't know what to do, I didn't even know why I had been taken or by who. My dad hadn't really talked to me about his case, but I had over heard some things. Before too long I heard footsteps coming closer, as much as I wanted to get out of that place…I….I didn't want anyone coming in. I had s…seen t…the movies a…and read books and I knew w…what normally happens t…to female prisoners." Hailey stopped again trying to control her breathing. All Hailey had ever said was that she had been taken and beaten, she never even thought about mentioning what else had happened, she knew her father would go crazy and lock her up in a tower or something. The Joker looked at Hailey, rage filling his eyes, but Hailey didn't notice, she was too busy trying to calm down enough to continue talking to pay attention to the Joker's eyes. Finally Hailey started up again. "Three men walked in and grabbed me and shoved me out the door, I was led to a room with just a table, it wasn't until I got closer that I realized that there were straps on the table, that's when I got really scared. Before too long, though it felt like hours, another man walked in, he looked like the boss, he nodded to the other men and they left, locking the door behind them."

_"Hello Hailey." The man spoke. "Do you know why you are here?" He asked smirking. Hailey shook her head tears streaming down her face no matter how hard she fought them back. "You don't? Well let me enlighten you, then maybe you can help me out and I'll let you go home okay?" He didn't wait for Hailey's reply. "You're daddy dearest is being, how shall I say, troublesome." He paused. "Now all I need to know is who he is getting his information from so that they can be…disposed of properly." He finished. Hailey wasn't dumb, she knew that they were going to kill the person, not that it mattered, she had no idea who it was, only that her dad was going to shut down the mob._

_ "I…I don't know." Hailey responded trying to get as far away as possible from this man._

_ "You don't?" The man asked in a mocking tone. "Well maybe I can help you remember," he moved closer to her. Before Hailey knew what was happening his fist was raised and it came down on her jaw, then again and again all over her body until she collapsed. "Now," he spoke straitening his suit, "Do you remember now?" He threatened. _

_ Hailey shook her head crying, "I don't know I swear." She pleaded. The man's face got madder and he knocked on the door, two men walked in, the man pointed at Hailey and left. If Hailey had been afraid earlier it was nothing compared to this. The two men approached her and she scooted away from them until she hit a wall, she was trapped. If she had thought the beating was bad before she had no idea what she was talking about. After she was beaten to a pulp again the man walked back in._

_ "Are you sure you don't know?" He asked daring her to say no again._

_ "I…I…" Hailey was having trouble talking. "I don't know, please I don't!" She begged, even though she knew it was no use. _

_ The man shook his head, "Strap her down." He said. The two men advanced towards Hailey and picked her up, she tried to fight, but she was just fifteen and these men were strong. They put her on the table and strapped her arms and legs down, she couldn't move anything but her head and hips. The man pulled out a knife and threw it to one of the guys. "You know what to do." He spat out before stalking out of the room. The man came over to Hailey and ripped her shirt off, then put the cold metal against her skin. Hailey whimpered, silently praying for someone to come in and save her, or for this to all be some sort of mistake and have the men apologize and let her go, but deep down Hailey knew this was not going to happen. A sharp pain from her abdomen ripped Hailey out of her thoughts. The man was carving into her skin, and not like a scratch, but carving so that a deep red thick liquid bubbled up from the cuts, it took Hailey a while to realize that this liquid was her blood, when she did she screamed. Her screaming did nothing to stop the men, Hailey thrashed but all that did was make the knife rip into her skin in more places and more painfully, so eventually she stopped. It seemed like an eternity to Hailey before they were finished, looking down she saw the word Maroni carved into her skin, it was later that she found out that was the name of the man who had given the two men the knife. Once again Maroni walked in and bent down so he could whisper in her ear. "Every four hours you don't tell us who the snitch is, you get another tattoo." He said referring to her gash. "And every ten hours, one of my men will be very happy." He smirked before he left her. Hailey closed her eyes and welcomed the darkness of unconsciousness. _

_ An hour or two Hailey woke up to find someone bandaging her wound. Hailey was in too much pain to wonder why her cuts were being taken care of, she was just thankful that these people has at least one scrap of humanity in them. Before she could think about this anymore she fell back into unconsciousness. Once again Hailey was woken up, but this time with a sharp pain right above the other mark. Hailey watched and screamed as the three-letter word 'Sal' was carved into her skin. Hailey couldn't fall back asleep or even fall into unconsciousness again, so she just laid there in misery. Four hours later men walked in again with Maroni. "Will you tell us now?" He asked holding a knife right under Hailey's bra._

_ "I…I….I d…don't kn…know. P…please…s…stop." Hailey begged again tears cascading down her down make-up smeared face. Maroni's eyes turned cold with rage and he slashed the knife across her stomach at least five times causing Hailey to cry out in pain. _

_ "Bitch." He hissed at her before leaving. "You better hope you remember in the next two hours." Hailey closed her eyes and quieted her whimpers. Even if she knew now she wouldn't tell him, she was determined. Hailey waited in silence for the two hours to be up. Every minute Hailey knew she got just that closer to loosing her virginity. Soon, too soon for Hailey, a man walked in with a sickly smile plastered on his face._

_ "Hello deary." His voice was silky, and it sickened Hailey. But there was nothing Hailey could do when he climbed on top of her, or when his face lowered to hers and his lips crashed down on hers hungrily. Hailey tried to turn her head away but she felt the cool metal of a knife pressed against her neck. "Do what I want and I might let you live." The man threatened. Hailey just nodded, not trusting her voice. The man's lips found hers again, and she was forced to kiss back. It was all she could do not to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. Before Hailey knew it her jeans had been ripped of and the man was lowering himself into her. Hailey tried to block the rest from her memory. Finally after a while he was done. He just stood up smirking, pulled his pants up and walked out the door. Hailey laid there wallowing in self pity for another two hours before a new man walked in with an knife, he didn't even ask, all he did was carve the word 'slut' into her collar bone. This went on for more than an entire day. Hailey was constantly in-between consciousness and unconsciousness and had the words 'Maroni', 'Sal', 'Slut', 'Whore', 'Bitch', 'Mine', and 'Liar' carved into her skin, along with slashed all over her. Every inch of her hurt and she could barely move without screaming. In-between her 'sessions' a man came in and changed her bandages. _

_ "I'm sorry," he spoke softly, "It's my fault that you're here, but I can't turn myself in, the mob needs to be shut down." After that he didn't speak anymore, and Hailey couldn't find the energy to respond, even though she wanted to scream at him tell him he's an awful person for letting them to this to her. After a while the man left and Hailey was left with an internal battle, should she tell Maroni who he is, or shouldn't she. Morally she knew shouldn't, but she hurt so much. Hailey looked down at the cuts and bruises on her arms and legs, everywhere on her body, she made her decision. The next time someone came in she spoke up._

_ "Wait," she barely whispered. The man looked at her and she realized it was Maroni._

_ "You've come around I see." He smirked. Hailey wanted nothing more than to slap that smirk off his face but she couldn't._

_ "I…I don't know h…his name." She got out before coughing up blood. "B…but he w…was the one w…who changed m…my bandages." She gasped for air. Maroni smiled and undid the restraints. Snapping his fingers he waited for two men to come into the room._

_ "Take her upstairs." He told them, going looking for the man Hailey had told him about. But Maroni never found the man because he had run, he heard Hailey tell Maroni who he was, and he was gone. Hailey passed out again once the men laid her on a bed in a room. Hailey thought they were going to let her go, but she was wrong. The beatings stopped but the other thing didn't. She was there for a week before the police found her. Of course the mob knew the cops were coming but figured that she wasn't worth taking with. They actually thought she would die, they had beat her up pretty badly once they found out, but Hailey wouldn't let them win, and she survived._

Hailey looked up at the Joker once she finished, tears were falling down her face, she quickly wiped them away. "The case fell apart after the man fled." Hailey explained softly. The Joker looked at her and was filled with rage. Those people had touched her, _his_ Hailey. They were going to pay. The Joker raised his hand and slowly slid Hailey shirt up. For the first time he saw the scars, they were partly faded, but they were definitely there. Seeing those scars was the last straw for the Joker. He stood up and stormed out of the room. He was going to go have a little 'talk' with the mob.

Back at Hailey's house Jim and Barbara were in shock. They had not expected Hailey to storm out on them, or say anything nice about the Joker. Barbara was more in shock of her recent actions where as Gordon couldn't get over the fact that Hailey had kissed, _kissed_ the Joker. She kissed that monster, and she hadn't seemed sorry about it either. He didn't know what to do. If she had kept something like this from him what else hadn't she told him? Gordon thought back to when Hailey had been taken by the mob, he knew she had kept something from him, but he had just let it go, knowing she had been through a lot and didn't want to push her. He then thought of the times she had come back from the psychologist crying and looking awful. He had just assumed that she had told him what happened and it was hard for her, not he realized what an idiot he had been. He had seen what he wanted to see, which was his daughter telling someone what had happened and that person helping her. Now he realized what must have happened with the mob, and with the psychologist. "Oh my God." He said looking at Barbara. "We have been so stupid." He told her. Barbara sent him a confused look. "Hailey was raped by the mob, and her psychologist." He spoke anger filling his words. Barbara looked shocked, but soon realization spread across her face.

"What do we do?" She asked finally.

"I don't know but we can't let her walk away from us, we have to show her that we understand now. It all makes sense, why she's been distant from us for so long, she had to keep that a secret. And I bet the psychologist threatened her that's why she didn't tell us." Gordon rubbed his hands across his face tiredly. "We should go to Jenna's and talk to her." He told his wife.

She nodded, "I'll call Alfred and see if he can watch the kids." She headed into the kitchen to make the call. Soon she came back out and nodded. "He's on his way. I explained we had an argument with Hailey and want to go talk to her." Gordon nodded and they sat in silence until Alfred showed up. They thanked him quickly and rushed out the door. They arrived at Jenna's in fifteen minutes. They quickly made their way to the door, they felt bad if they woke anyone up seeing as it was one O'clock in the morning. Jenna opened the door and looked at the Gordon's in surprise.

"Um, hi can I help you?" She asked.

"We'd like to speak to Hailey please." Jim answered.

Confusion was spread all over Jenna's face. "Then…why are you here?" She asked slowly. "Doesn't she live with you guys?" Jenna had just woken up so hadn't pieced together that something must be wrong if Hailey's parents were looking for Hailey at her house, and Hailey wasn't there.

"You mean she's not here?" Barbara asked terrified. Where was Hailey.

"No, is, is something wrong?" Jenna asked finally getting it. Jim and Barbara shared a look. They should tell her.

"Well we had a fight with Hailey and she stormed out saying she was going over to your house, and that we shouldn't try to call because she wouldn't pick up." Barbara explained.

"Oh my God, well come on in and we'll figure this out." Jenna said closing the door and leading them into her living room. "What was the fight about?" She asked. She was greeted with silence so she guessed. "Boys?"

"You could say that." Jim replied not wanting to tell anyone that his daughter seemed to not think the Joker was completely evil. "Oh, my God, Barbara what if he has her again?" He asked terrified.

"Oh no! No Jim, please say no." Barbara said. Jenna just sat there confused she was Hailey's best friend but not the brightest.

"Jenna, thank you for having us but we have to go." Jim said standing up and leading Barbara out the door. Jim and Barbara drove to the police station. Gordon quickly walked in and everyone there looked surprised. Marty was working and came over to him.

"Jim, what's wrong?" He asked.

"We don't know where Hailey is." He explained. "We fought and then she left saying she was going to Jenna's, but we were just there and she's not there. Jenna had no idea what we were talking about. What if he has her again? Or the Mob?" Gordon was freaking out. Just then a call came in from the radio.

"Home Base this is officer 1172, Sal Maroni has just been murdered, we think it was the Joker." Everyone went silent at this news, What did it mean? Why would the Joker kill Maroni.


	8. Blood, Lunch,& lying fathers on the news

Memo: And here it is the new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, it took me forever to right and is by far my longest chapter, about twice the size of my normal chapters. I just couldn't seem to stop writing it. As always reviews and messages are greatly appreciated. A special thanks to corbsxx, KMN91, Madness is me, I3onnie, SakuraBlossum58, and bellatrix360 for your reviews, you guys are why I keep writing. And of course the only things that belongs to me are Hailey and the Plot, the rest you have many people to thank for, myself unfortunately not included.

Recap: The Joker saved Hailey, she went to his place, told him about her time captured by the mob, which she had never told anyone, and then the Joker goes and kills Maroni.

The Joker walked back to his hideout, he was covered in blood, both his own and Maroni's. Killing him had proved more difficult then he had thought but he had managed it. The Joker thought about why he had done it, and for once the answer wasn't because he was bored or wanted to, it was because of Hailey. He couldn't stand the thought of someone hurting Hailey and getting away with it. Every time he thought of him touching her, or letting one of his men touch her, cold rage filled his body. But now that rage had cooled down a little and the Joker was just tired, which wasn't something he normally was, but he had only gotten 4 hours of sleep in the past three days and killed two people along with crashing a party. When he walked through the door the soft droning of the TV was the only sound that greeted him, all of his guys were asleep. The Joker made his way up to his room, figuring that Hailey had fallen asleep, he was wrong. As soon as he opened the door he heard Hailey gasp as she saw him.

"What happened?" She asked. If the Joker hadn't known better he would have thought she sounded concerned.

"Nothing." He replied not wanting to look weak on front of her, but the truth was he had lost a lot of blood, Maroni had men hired to protect him, and they took their job very seriously.

"You're lying, you're covered in blood, that is not nothing." Hailey moved closer and saw that the Joker was still bleeding. "And you're hurt. Sit down." Hailey told him motioning to the bed. Without looking back to see if the Joker had done as instructed she went into the bathroom and came out with the first aid kit the Joker had used on her earlier. Hailey walked over to the Joker, who had in fact sat down on the bed, and opened the kit. First Hailey took a wet rag and started wiping the blood from the Joker's face, but as the blood came off, so did the make-up.

"Stop!" The Joker growled. He did not want to be exposed like that to her.

"If these don't get washed they could get infected and hurt like a bitch." Hailey reasoned. "Besides you've seen my scars, and I personally think mine are worse." Hailey surprised herself with her tone, but it worked, the Joker shut up and let Hailey continue to wipe his face. Soon Hailey was done and she paused awkwardly, first of all she was no longer looking at the Joker, she was looking at a very attractive man who had to scars on his face, that seemed to add to his looks, and second she had to take his shirt off. Hailey's eyes locked with the Joker's as she reached for his shirt. Their eyes didn't break contact as she lifted his shirt off his body. Hailey blushed and looked down quickly, her eyes finding an incredibly toned chest. Hailey tore her eyes away and re-wet the rag before cleaning the cuts on his chest. Finding her voice she asked, "So what happened, did you get attacked by a dog?"

The Joker laughed before responding. "No two angry body guards who took their job very seriously but were not good with knives."

"Body guards?" Hailey asked. "Who did you go after the mayor?" Even though her voice was light and joking she was worried, what if it had been someone important or someone she knew?

"No, Maroni." He answered quietly. Whatever Hailey had been expecting that was not it.

"W…what?" She asked sure that she had misheard or the Joker had misspoken.

"I went after Maroni, and killed him." The Joker clarified. By this time Hailey was finished wrapping his wounds and looked up at the Joker.

"Thank you." She whispered. Once again their eyes met and Hailey could feel the electricity in the room. The Joker leaned closer and Hailey closed her eyes. She knew this was wrong, this was the Joker, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Hailey could feel his breath on her face and smell him, as they got closer. His sent was intoxicating, a mixture of gun power, gasoline, and coffee. Just as their lips were about to touch a loud ringing noise interrupted them. Hailey pulled back quickly and the Joker growled in frustration. It took a moment for Hailey to realize the ringing noise was her cell phone. Quickly she took it out of her pocket, by force of habit she answered it without thinking.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hailey? Oh Hailey thank God you're alive!" She heard her mother's voice answer.

"Why wouldn't I be alive?" Hailey asked confused, they thought she was at Jenna's and unless they had called Jen-. Hailey realized what must have happened and cursed under her breath.

"We went to Jenna's house and you weren't there, and she hadn't heard from you, and you're father and I were so worried-" Hailey cut her off.

"Worried were you?" She snapped. "About my safety or that I wasn't acting like the perfect daughter you wanted me to be?"

"Hailey," Hailey heard the voice of her father on the phone. "Hailey you're mother and I are so sorry, we've been so stupid about what happened with the mob, but we want you to know that you're safe now, Maroni is dead, the cops just called it in." The way her father said that made Hailey's blood boil, he made it seem as if the police were to thank for the death of Maroni. Of course he would never say anything good about the Joker! The Joker noticed her anger and wrapped his arm around her while giving her a questioning look. The Joker didn't even realize his arm was around her until she leaned against him. "I know he's dead." Hailey spoke evenly trying to control her anger. It wasn't working very well.

"You do? How?" Gordon asked shocked. The only people he knew were all in this room, and the Joke- "No." Gordon said slowly. "Hailey tell me you're not with him." He almost begged his voice cracking. How could his daughter run away from her family to that…that freak.

"Yes, yes I am with him." Hailey answered, her voice void of emotion.

"Hailey! He's a freak a murderer, an evil person. You're not safe with him!" Gordon insisted terrified.

"Really?" Hailey asked. "I'm not safe with him? Well let me ask you something, who saved me from being blown up by the mob the other day? Who killed one of his own men for kissing me? Who just saved me a couple of hours ago from being mugged and raped? Who's the person who actually cared enough to get the truth out of me about what happened when I got taken? Who just killed the man who's been haunting me since I was fifteen years old?" Hailey nearly shouted the last part. Hailey was greeted by a shocked silence from her father. "No dad, I believe I am very safe with him." With that Hailey hung up and turned off her phone. There was an awkward silence between Hailey and the Joker after that conversation and the fact that it had just stopped a kiss from occurring.

"You should go to sleep, you look exhausted." The Joker finally spoke.

"You should too, you need to rest if you want those to heal." Hailey said motioning to the cuts on his torso.

"Fine." The Joker said lying down on the bed. Hailey took a nervous breath. She trusted the Joker, felt safe with him, and was…attracted to him? Hailey looked down at herself, she was a mess, he dress was torn and wrinkled; there was no way she was sleeping in that. The Joker watched curious as Hailey made her way over to a dresser and pulled out one of the Joker's dress shirts. Hailey turned away from the Joker and slid off her dress. Looking at her back the Joker noticed she wasn't wearing a bra. Hailey slid the Joker's shirt over her head; it was long on her going down about halfway down her thighs. The Joker was breathing heavily; Hailey had literally just stripped in front of him, and hadn't seemed afraid at all. 'She sure is something' he thought to himself. 'Just two hours ago she had almost been mugged and raped, and now she's stripping in front of me'. Hailey sliding into bed next to him interrupted the Joker from his thoughts.

"You really aren't afraid of me are you?" The Joker asked her thoughtfully.

"I have no doubt that you could hurt me if you wanted to, but I don't think that you will." Hailey replied honestly. The Joker smiled but said nothing, they fell into a comfortable silence and before long they were both asleep.

Gordon looked at his phone like it had betrayed him. "She's with him." He whispered brokenly. "She's with him and she's not afraid, she'd rather be with him, with that…thing than with us." He slowly sat down as Barbara came over to him.

"It's not really Hailey talking." She tried to comfort him. "She's probably just suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. I mean compared to what she went through before the Joker is being nice to her."

"But you didn't hear her Barbara." Jim said. "She hated me, and…and she's right, in some ways. The Joker did…save her." Gordon hated to admit it but a fact was a fact. He had done the one thing no one else had been able to do, kill Maroni.

Barbara didn't know what to tell her husband, in part because she felt responsible. If she had kept her mouth shut Hailey would have never run away, she would have never gone to the Joker. It was a while before either of them spoke again. "Come on Jim. We should head home, Alfred needs his sleep." Jim just nodded and followed his wife to the car. Everyone at the station was silent, all shocked about what they had just heard.

"My God, this city really is falling apart." Marty finally spoke quietly. "A sweet girl like Hailey-" he stopped himself, he just couldn't admit to himself what had happened. "Okay boys, if any of you even think you know where the Joker is, get back up and go check it out, we need to find Hailey. I don't know what will happen to Gordon if we don't." Everyone nodded in agreement before lapsing into silence.

Hailey woke up with someone's arm wrapped around her waist. It took her a minute to realize whose arm it was, but surprisingly she didn't feel afraid, she felt safe. She was with the man who had saved her time and time again. And although it sounded weird, Hailey trusted the Joker, she probably trusted the Joker more than anyone else, including her parents. Hailey smiled at that thought. Despite what other people may have thought, Hailey had never truly felt safe. She had always known in the back of her mind that the mob could come after her at any time; that she was never truly safe. She had done her best to hide it from her friends and family, so as not to worry them, but it some ways that had made it harder for her. She hated keeping secrets from the people she cared about, but none of them would understand. Those nights weren't just something you could go to therapy and forget about, when you went through something that traumatic, you had nightmares about it for the rest of your life. Her father getting a promotion hadn't helped quell her fear either. If anything now she was an even bigger target, which is why she had taken self-defense classes and martial arts. It's not like Hailey was mad at her father for being promoted, but he could have at least realized what kind of position he had put her in. Hailey sighed deeply and took a calming breath. Now everything was…well it wasn't okay, her family probably thought she was crazy and she was staying with a mass murderer, but things were better. For the first time since she was fifteen, Hailey hadn't had any nightmares. She heard a groan coming from the Joker as he woke up. Hailey shifted her body so she was facing him and smiled. For some reason as soon as the Joker looked at her she felt self-conscious; 'I probably look like crap.' She thought to her self.

The Joker smiled as he saw her blush, leaning forward he kissed her forehead. "Good Morning Sleeping Beauty." he said. Hailey smiled, remembering the first time she had woken up in this bed, and how different the circumstances had been.

"Morning, Jo-" She stopped to think. "What should I call you?" She asked him. "Joker sounds, I don't know like I'm fighting you or something, and calling you boss, would just be weird." Hailey felt the Joker stiffen when asked his name. "Okay, or you don't have to tell me." She added on, not wanting to push him.

"J-" The Joker seemed like he was about to tell her when he shut his mouth. Hailey could tell he felt uncomfortable and didn't want to make him snap. She was pretty sure that he wouldn't hurt her, but she never knew for certain.

"How 'bout I just call you Jay?" Hailey asked. "Is that alright?"

The Joker smiled at her, how someone like her could even tolerate someone like him, let alone like and trust, was beyond him, but the Joker wouldn't trade it for the world. "That sounds good." He told her lightly pushing some strands of hair off her face. They just stayed like that until Hailey's stomach growled, signaling that it was time to eat. The Joker laughed and Hailey hid her head in the pillows. "C'mon beautiful, let's get you something to eat." He said standing up. Hailey unwillingly got out of bed and stretched.

"Do you have any pants I could borrow?" she asked looking down at herself. The Joker looked over at her and remembered that all she was wearing was one of his shirts. He just stared at for a couple of seconds before processing what she had said.

"Oh, uh, probably." He replied rummaging through his drawers. He pulled out a pair of jeans that were too small for him but he had been too lazy to get rid of them. "These are the smallest I have." He told her tossing her the jeans. Hailey smiled and put them on. For some reason this felt right, this casualness with the Joker, just talking as if he wasn't a murderer, wearing his clothes. Hailey shrugged, maybe she was just messed up, but she didn't care. Hailey and the Joker descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Just as they had last night all of the clowns looked up at Hailey. The Joker saw this and wound his arm around Hailey's waist protectively. "Scat." He growled at them. Faster than Hailey could believe the clowns left the room, some of them even running. The Joker led Hailey to the table then went to the stove and started cooking. Soon the aroma of bacon, sausages, pancakes, eggs, and hash browns filled the kitchen. Hailey smiled, no one had made her breakfast in a really long time.

The Joker placed a plate in front of her filled with food. "Thanks Jay," Hailey told him. The Joker nodded and sat down next to her, with a plate pilled with twice as much food. "You eat all of that?" Hailey asked laughing.

"Um, yeah, you don't?" The Joker asked.

"Not normally, but I haven't eaten in a while so I just might finish all of this." She motioned to her plate. The Joker rolled his eyes and started eating. Hailey could have sworn her mumbled something along the lines of 'Women', but she wasn't sure. Hailey just smiled and started eating, for a moment forgetting about everything that had happened, and just enjoying herself. Once they were finished Hailey looked over at the Joker, she really wasn't sure what he did during the day, or what she should do. "So…" Hailey said awkwardly. "What now?"

"Well, you need clothes." The Joker pointed out. Hailey inhaled quickly, surely he wasn't suggesting that she go home to get some, she would probably never be allowed out of the house again. "We could go shopping." The Joker said. Hailey couldn't help the unladylike snort that escaped from her mouth. The Joker looked at her questionably.

"I just can't picture you going shopping." Hailey said in explanation. The Joker rolled his eyes at her, but Hailey saw the smile on his lips, an actual smile, not a smirk, or grin, but a genuine smile.

"Well originally I was just going to steal you some clothes, but now that you've said that I'm going to have to prove you wrong." The Joker told her. "So before we go we have to put on disguises, I think we wouldn't get much shopping done if someone recognized either of us." With that the Joker took Hailey's hand and led her back upstairs to his room. The Joker rummaged through his closet and drawers pulling out a V-Neck T-Shirt, designer jeans, and a regular T-Shirt. Donning the jeans and V-Neck he tossed Hailey the other shirt. "This will fit you better and you can tie it back with a rubber band." He told her. Hailey did as instructed; while she looked a little different people would definitely still recognize her. The Joker saw Hailey's expression. "C'mon we're not done yet. Hailey turned to look at him and realized that he looked good, really good.

"If you ever give up this murdering thing I'm sure you could find work as a model." Hailey smirked walking over to the Joker.

The Joker turned to look at her, "Right back at ya toots." He replied winking and leading her into the bathroom. He pulled some hair dye out of the cabinet. "Red head or blonde?" He asked Hailey. It took a while to realize that he was asking what color she wanted _her_ hair.

"Oh, um red head?" Hailey replied, making it sound like a question.

"Good, you're too smart to be a blonde." The Joker responded opening up the dye. Hailey put a towel around her neck and went over to the sink. The Joker put the dye in her hair, and after keeping it in for the allotted time her rinsed it out. Hailey was about to get up when he pushed her back down. "You're not done yet, now we need to cut it." He told her holding up a pair of scissors Hailey could have sworn he didn't have a minute ago.

"Just don't make it too short, I swear to God if you give me a bob" Hailey told him closing her eyes; she couldn't watch this. Ten minutes and a lot of hair later Hailey opened her eyes and turned towards the mirror, terrified of what she was about to see. Whatever it was, it wasn't this. Her hair was a deep red with side swept bangs. The Joker had supposedly curled the rest as it fell in loose curls around her face. "Oh, my God. Is this my hair?" Hailey asked in shock. "I love it." She smiled. "Thank you Jay." Hailey leaned over and kissed the Joker on the cheek. Realizing what she had just done Hailey pulled back and blushed. "What are you going to do with your hair?" Hailey asked quickly.

"Wash it, trim it, dye it a light brown to get the green out." The Joker answered. Hailey just nodded and watched, as he did exactly what he said. The end result was kind blowing. Jay looked nothing like the Joker; his hair was parted in the middle, and was wavy going until just above his shoulders. Instead of green and matted it was a light brown and almost flowy.

"Wow," Hailey told him, unable to keep the amazement out of her voice. The Joker smiled and pulled out some make up.

"Fix your make up and we'll be all ready to go. I'll be waiting down stairs." He left Hailey in the bathroom, her eyes following him as he exited the room. Hailey shook her head trying to think straight. Looking in the mirror she still couldn't believe this girl was her. Quickly fixing her make up Hailey put on some more eyeliner, grey eye shadow, mascara, and lip-gloss before exiting the room and going to find the Joker.

"Ready." Hailey told him finding him in a sitting room.

"Good, let's go." The Joker replied taking her hand and leading her to the garage. He walked over to the corner and Hailey saw that there was something covered by a tarp. The Joker removed the tarp to reveal a motorcycle. It was completely black and had two seats; it was a simple yet elegant design. "I haven't used this in years." The Joker told her. "This was mine from before…this." He said gesturing towards the hideout. "I don't use it because I've never not been the Joker, and didn't want the police to be able to figure out my name from the papers and such."

"Jay, its gorgeous." Hailey whispered. She had always loved motorcycles; they just felt freer than cars, like if you ran away no one could ever find you. 'I guess that's exactly what happened to the Joker.' She told herself. The Joker pulled it out of the corner and positioned it so it would be easier to get out of the garage.

He sat down on it and started it up. "Well c'mon toots, it can do a lot of things but getting you on is not one of them." Hailey quickly hurried over to the motorcycle and got on behind the Joker. She wrapped her arms around his waist and was reminded of this morning, this just felt right.

"Let's go then." Hailey told him resting her head against his back. The Joker started the bike forward, and they were off. It only took about twenty minutes to get into town, and when they did the Joker parked in front of the most expensive town in all of Gotham, _Clique_. "Jay, we're not shopping here are we?" Hailey asked. She didn't know why but she felt bad about him spending so much money on her.

"Yeah, why not?" The Joker asked confused, he thought girls like this store.

"I don't want you to waist your money on me." Hailey mumbled embarrassed. The Joker laughed, which did not help. "Don't laugh at me." She chastised him half-heartedly.

"Luv, in my line of work I get a lot of money, and I don't spend most of it. So I either spend it on you, or burn it." He responded. Hailey sighed admitting defeat and followed the Joker into the store. It was kind of surreal, how normal it was. No one screamed in fear, in fact hardly anyone paid any attention to them as they made their way through the store. "Size four right?" The Joker asked Hailey as he picked up a dress.

"Um yeah, how did you know?" She asked surprised. The Joker seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

"It's a gift." The Joker laughed. Hailey followed the Joker around the store as he pulled more and more clothes off the racks, ranging from jeans to party dresses to shoes. After thirty minutes and surely hundreds dollars of clothes the Joker directed Hailey towards the changing rooms. "Try them on and let me see." He instructed her, sitting down on a bench. Hailey did as instructed and went into the changing rooms. The first things she tried on were a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, with leather boots, a white tang top, a cardigan wrap, and a knit hat.

"What do you think?" Hailey asked coming out and posing for the Joker.

"Luv it." He replied with a wink. Hailey smiled and did a little twirl before going back in to change. The next outfit was a white floral lace top with a short back shirt, tights, and a pink knit hat. Once again she came out and posed. Hailey was actually enjoying herself, and so was the Joker. This pattern continued many more times and soon Hailey had tried everything on. "Ready to check out?" The Joker asked her.

"I haven't decided what I want to keep." Hailey told him. "I like everything so much." She explained.

The Joker looked at her as if she had just grown a third head. "Uh, toots, we're getting all of it." He told her smiling at her shocked expression.

"What?" Hailey asked. "No, I can't let you buy all of this." She said motioning to the huge pile of clothes.

"Since when did I need your permission?" the Joker asked smirking. Before Hailey knew what was happening the Joker had taken all of her clothes and walked over to the register. The cashier's eyes widened at the amount of clothes but didn't say anything. Hailey continued protesting throughout the entire process of checking out. Especially when the total came to $1,394.73. It was kind of awkward when the Joker took out his wallet and paid in cash, Hailey was sure that looked suspicious and was terrified that someone would realize who they were. But the moment passed and soon Hailey and The Joker were walking out of the store. The Joker glanced at his watch and saw that it was already 1 O'clock. "What do you want for lunch?" He asked looking around the street. "I haven't been out to eat in a while." He continued. "What's your favorite?"

"Shaw's." Hailey replied absentmindedly. "Oh, but we can't go there its so expensive!" She insisted.

"Sucks 'cause I really want Shaw's." The Joker replied leading Hailey towards the restaurant. Hailey sighed dramatically and followed the Joker once again. Lunch was fun. They got to know each other, or rather the Joker got to know Hailey, and Hailey learned little things like his favorite food, movie, etc. By the time they were finished it was 3 O'clock. Hailey and the Joker walked back to the bike and put her clothes in the side bags, it was tight but somehow they all fit. Hailey sighed contently and leaned against the Joker as they made their way back to the hideout.

"This was fun." Hailey told him as they walked in the door.

"I agree." He told her, and it was the truth. As much as the Joker did enjoy being the Joker, it was nice for one day to be 'Jay' as Hailey called him. Hailey went upstairs and changed into the first outfit she had tried on. Picking up her phone she saw that she had seven missed calls, all from her parents and twenty- two new texts, from her parents, Marty, and Jenna. Not even bothering to read/ listen to them she deleted them. Walking downstairs she went to go find Jay. She walked into the kitchen and saw a note.

_Went to work be back late, took most of the clowns with me. The ones still at home shouldn't bother you, I believe you've already met one of them, Doc, if you get hungry there should be food to eat somewhere. Don't wait up._

_~Jay_

Hailey smiled as she finished reading the letter. First of all the Joker had called what he did 'going to work' and secondly he had signed it Jay. Hailey didn't know why, but that made her happy. Smiling to herself she went into the living room where she found dock. He was watching the news and she decided to join him. "Figured out he's not that bad eh?" he teased her, bringing up their previous conversation.

"Yeah, it only took the third time of him saving me. Third times the charm right?" Hailey responded smiling.

"Really, he saved you three times?" Doc asked obviously shocked.

"Um, yeah," Hailey replied. "First time was when he took me from work, if he hadn't I would have been blown up by the mob, second time was when I was here and the clowns were beating me up, one guy went a little too far and Jay killed him, then last night I was getting mugged…among other things and he saved me." Hailey finished. "Oh, and then he killed Maroni, but I already trusted him by then."

"Jay?" Doc asked smirking. "You call him Jay?"

"Well, yeah." Hailey replied. "What do you call him? Boss? I'm not going to call him that, I don't work for him." Hailey responded. Doc just rolled his eyes and went back to watching the news.

"_And now an urgent message from Commissioner Gordon." The anchor said. Gordon appeared on the screen and Hailey stiffened, she did not have a good feeling about where this was going. _

_ "Good evening everyone," Hailey looked at a clock and saw it was 5 O'clock. "I am sure that by now all of you have heard about the events involving the Joker and my daughter Hailey." Gordon paused to dramatically look directly at the camera. "Unfortunately this is not the first time my daughter has been taken by someone and used as leverage against me. Hailey was taken by the mob at the young age of fifteen. It pains me deeply to know that my daughter has had to live through so much." Gordon paused again to gain his composure. "And I am sure that you all know about what happened at Bruce Wayne's party. Unfortunately after the party the Joker once again got my daughter, Hailey. We do not know where she is, or in what kind of condition. If you see either her or the Joker, or have any idea where she may be, please either call this news station, or the police. Thank you." Gordon exited and the camera went back to the anchor. _

_ "The number of this station is listed at the bottom of the screen and to reach the station just dial 911." _Even though Gordon was now out of sitethat didn't quell Hailey's anger.

"How dare he." Hailey hissed. "He made it seem as if the Joker kidnapped me again!" She yelled. Hailey quickly pulled out her phone and dialed the number on the screen.

"Hello, and you're on the air, do you have any information about Hailey Gordon's ware bouts?" Hailey heard a woman ask, looking at eth TV. Hailey saw it was the anchor.

"First of all having a person call in and have them be on TV while telling you where they think I might be is dumb, I mean really dumb. You don't think the Joker and his men watch TV? If someone did know where I am and called in, we would have enough time to pack up and leave before the police could get here. Secondly I'm fine. My father does know what condition I'm in and that is fine. And thirdly, contrary to popular belief I was not kidnapped by the Joker again. I got into a fight with my parents because my mom betrayed my trust and they were treating me like I was five, so I stormed out of the house, planning to go to my friend Jenna's but found myself by the docks where I almost got mugged, and do you know who saved me?" Hailey asked, practically yelling by this point. "The Joker! That's right the Joker saved me! So thank you for your concern but I am just fine, in fact I'm better than fine, I'm great, because for the first time in years I'm actually with someone who knows what I've been through and the danger I'm in because of it and is willing and able to protect me. So just BACK OFF!" With that Hailey slammed her phone closed, effectively ending the phone call.

Doc turned to look at her after her little outburst. "Well, welcome to our hideout, I have this funny feeling you'll be staying with us for a while." He smiled. Hailey couldn't help but smile back; his smile was contagious. Doc lifted up the remote and changed the channel to cartoon network. For the rest of eth night they just sat there in a comfortable silence watching children's shows like it was the most natural thing to do.

So this is what I imagined the Joker's hair to look like:

and Hailey's


	9. Shopping Turned to Running

Gordon was pacing around his room, again. He had been doing this for the past three hours, and frankly it was driving his wife insane. "Jim pacing like that is not going to bring Hailey back!" She finally snapped at him. It had been a week since Hailey ran away to the Joker and they were no closer to finding her. Barbara thought back to Friday, when they had come so close to getting her back.

_"Jimmy, I don't think Hailey's going to be able to come to your school, you might want to pick someone else. How about your daddy? He saves lives." Barbara told her son that morning._

_ "No." He insisted. "Hailey will come, she promised! And she keeps her promises!" Barbara was reminded of something similar Hailey had said to her about the Joker and was shocked into silence. "Besides Hailey's mad at you and daddy, and she'll get mad at me if I bring daddy when I told her she could come." Barbara realized that there was no way to win this fight and just gave up. _

_ "Alright I'm sorry, you're right Hailey will be there." She relented. Jimmy then got on the school bus that had just pulled up and waved good-bye to his mother. Barbara stayed by the phone the entire morning expecting a call from the office about how Jimmy got upset because Hailey didn't show up. At 11:30 the phone rang and Barbara rushed over to it. "Hello?" She spoke into the receiver._

_ "Mrs. Gordon?" A voice on the other line replied._

_ "Yes, who is this?" Barbara asked, already knowing the answer._

_ "This is Principle Miller from Jimmy's school. Today the kids brought in someone who they looked up to and Jimmy said that Hailey was coming, the teachers were shocked, having watched the news and heard about Hailey, but we were even more shocked when Hailey came in."_

_ "She what?" Barbara interrupted._

_ "She came in, to Jimmy's class, the teacher was so shocked she didn't know what to do. She called the office to tell us, but by then Jimmy was done with his presentation and Hailey told him she had to leave now. Then she just walked out the door. Some people who say they saw her said she got onto the back of a motorcycle with a man."_

_ "Was it the Joker?" Barbara asked afraid of the answer. _

_"They're not sure." Mrs. Miller replied. "If he was the Joker he wasn't dressed up like him, he had on no make-up, his hair was normal, and he was wearing normal clothes. I'm sorry that we don't have better news, but at least your daughter is safe."_

_ "Yes, yes that's good isn't it?" Barbara replied absentmindedly. "Well thank you for calling and letting me know."_

_ "My pleasure, well have a good day." Mrs. Miller hung up, not wanting the awkward conversation to drag on. _

Barbara shook her head slightly to come back to reality. Jimmy had been so happy that day after school. He had told his mother that Hailey did keep her promises. Barbara's shoulders shook as she tried to fight back the tears; it really was all her fault. She shouldn't have told Jim about the Joker, she should have trusted Hailey more; she wasn't a little girl anymore. 'I hope she comes back soon, Jim won't last much longer' she thought to herself, closing her eyes and drifting into unconsciousness.

Hailey, unlike her parents, had been having the time of her life. Finally, after all these years, she was free to do practically whatever she wanted, even if it was against the law, not that Hailey would do that, but just knowing she was allowed to was invigorating. At this particular moment Hailey was in the kitchen doing the dishes, a task she normally despised, but didn't mind here. She constantly found herself acting like a mother to the clowns here, who had come to like her; she now felt comfortable being alone with all of them. "Hey there M" one of the clowns named will said as he walked into the kitchen. Hailey smiled and continued washing. She had been 'dubbed' M three days ago when her and a bunch of the guys were watching James Bond, Casino Royal. Hailey loved that movie and had been mouthing along with it for most of the movie. She had mentioned to someone that she thought it was cool that Bond's boss was called M, so the guys started calling her that, but they all said it stood for mom.

"What's up Will?" She responded after finishing up the dishes and drying her hands.

"Not much, the other guys are playing poker and, well you know I'm God awful at it." He laughed.

"Very true, even I can beat you and I'm not very good." Hailey agreed teasing him.

"Thanks for that, that right there just really boosted by self-confidence." He replied sarcastically.

"Glad I could help hun." Hailey smirked. She had gotten into the habit of calling all the clowns 'hun', except for Doc; they had formed a special bond, sort of like brother and sister. She called him Ben, which was his real name, no one else called him that, and he called her Hailey, the only other person who now called her that was the Joker. And of course Hailey called the Joker Jay, it was a strange and mostly dysfunctional family, but Hailey loved it. The chaos was such a nice break from her normal family, who were the typical American family, Husband, Wife, and three kids. The husband is the provider for the family and he takes that very seriously, while the mother took care of the kids. If there were a problem they would normally just talk it out peacefully. Here if there was a problem someone normally got hurt, something that honestly hadn't bothered Hailey at all. "Hey what day is it today?" Hailey asked Will.

"Um, the 14th I think." Will replied. "Why?"

Hailey didn't answer but swore instead, "Shit! It's my dads birthday, and I haven't gotten him anything." She said punching a wall. Hailey had picked up some of the Joker's habits, hitting walls was one of them.

"Um, M, didn't you, ya know, run away from your dad? Why would you want to get him a present?" Will asked.

"Because he's my dad, and I still care about him, he just needs to let me do what I want." Hailey responded gathering things into her purse.

"Like come stay with a bunch of criminals?" Will smirked.

"Exactly!" Hailey laughed. "I'm so glad _someone_ understands." Looking around the kitchen Hailey looked at Will. "Do you know where Jay is?" She asked. "I think he'd throw a fit if I left and didn't tell him.

"I don't throw fits." The Joker answered walking into the room. "I throw tantrums." He smiled, something he had been doing a lot since Hailey had come to stay with them.

"Oh! Hi Jay, I need to go out to get a present for my dad." Hailey explained looking at the Joker.

"You know if people recognize you your gonna have one hell of a time getting away, that time at your brothers school was close enough." The Joker told her.

"That's why I'll have a disguise! And a guy!" Hailey said happily, she seemed to always be happy around the Joker, and childish, maybe because she could, unlike at home where she had to always be mature.

"A boy?" The Joker asked, trying to hide his jealousy, he didn't like Hailey hanging out with the other guys. Even though he knew they thought of her like a mother, he still didn't like it.

"Yeah, I'll bring…" Hailey stopped to think for a moment. "Will!" She finally said running over to him. "Is that okay?" Hailey asked. "You don't need him tonight do you?" Hailey was giving the Joker puppy dog eyes, and couldn't say no to those eyes.

"It's fine with me, just don't get caught." The Joker sighed. "And make sure you have a good disguise." He mumbled walking out.

"I don't think he likes you with other guys." Will spoke up after the Joker was gone. Hailey just shrugged and rushed upstairs to change. The Joker had bought her a lot of disguise clothes for when she went out, he knew she hated staying inside all day. Hailey decided to dress up like a dumb blonde today; it was the most fun costume in her opinion. Hailey walked down the stairs dressed in a pink tube-top, a jean mini skirt, Prada sunglasses, and ridiculous high heels. She had on a blond wig that was pulled back into a pony-tale. She had on eyeliner, pink eye shadow, mascara, blush and lip-gloss.

"I'm ready to go!" Hailey shouted happily running over to Will.

Will looked over at her and sighed. "The Joker is going to kill me." He replied. Hailey just laughed and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the cars. They drove into town talking about anything that came up.

"Okay, so how old were you when you had your first kiss?" Hailey asked Will.

"Um, fourteen I think." Will replied. "Or maybe it was thirteen."

"How can you not know?" Hailey asked. "A first kiss is, it's…how can you not be sure?" She finished.

"You are so strange did you know that?" Will smiled. "So when was yours?"

Hailey paused, she really should have seen that one coming, but she didn't want to talk about it. "Oh look we're here!" She said changing the subject quickly. As soon as Will parked she hopped out of the car and waited for Will. "Our cover story is that we're dating okay?" Hailey told Will, leaning into him.

"Yep, he's gonna kill me." Will said wrapping his arm around Hailey's waist.

"You worry too much." Hailey told him simply leading him into her dad's favorite store, Eddie Bower. The next hour was spent with Hailey dragging Will around the store, trying to find the perfect gift for her dad. Finally after Hailey had looked at everything in the store she decided on a dress shirt and matching pair of pants for her dads present. As she was paying for the items, Hailey noticed a man watching her, looking closely Hailey realized that it was Marty, she instantly paled. "Will, we need to leave now." She told him quietly, not wanting to seem suspicious.

"Why?" he asked, "I was finally starting to have fun." He turned around and Hailey saw him in a tight-fitting sweater with a scarf, he looked so stereotypically gay. Hailey looked over at Marty, and because heaven must hate her, they made eye contact. Hailey threw a wad of cash onto the counter and grabbed Will's hand.

"That should cover everything!" She shouted before running out of the store.

"Hailey!" She heard Marty call after her.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" She cussed running through the stores trying to avoid Marty.

"Yeah, I'm so dead." Will gasped, already winded from so much running.

"Except this time it won't be the Joker killing you, it will be the lovely court system of Gotham if we don't hurry!" Hailey responded dodging other shoppers. "He's probably already called us in, we need to get out of the store now, otherwise we'll be locked in." Hailey explained glancing around. "Okay, we'll split up. Meet me at the car." Hailey told Will, ducking down to avoid being seen by Marty, who was still following them.

"Are you kidding me?" Will hissed. "If we split up and you get taken the Joker will kill me! Kill me Hailey."

"Like the Joker would really care." Hailey snapped back.

"Um, yes, yes he would care. You may be blind to it but he like you, a lot. And I'm dead if he finds out I told you that, but my likelihood of living is not looking so good right now, so whatever."

"Well at least one of us would get out. Will if I get caught I get brought back to my family, get counseling and I'm fine, but you would go to jail, and I could never live with myself if that happened." Hailey explained.

"Alright." Will relented. I'll pull the car up to the main entrance." With that Hailey and Will split up. Hailey purposefully ran in front of Marty so he wouldn't follow Will. Will, using Hailey as a distraction ran down the escalator and to the first floor. When he reached the entrance they had come in he saw police patrolling the area. He slowed down so that he wouldn't look suspicious while he passed the police. No one stopped him as he walked out of the door, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the car safely. But his relief was short lived as he remembered Hailey.

Hailey knew that there was no way she could get away; she just hoped that Will got away all right. Like she had told Will, she would probably be diagnosed with Stockholm Syndrome or something and be fine after a couple of months. Hailey took the time she had to think of what she would say when she got caught. The truth wasn't too bad, and the story did really sound like Stockholm Syndrome, which could work to her advantage. With this decided Hailey tried to make her escape by simply running through the police, but as one would suspect, this did not work very well. "Gotcha." An officer told her when she tried to push past him and he grabbed her.

"Let me go!" Hailey yelled trying to get away. "I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back!" By this time a large crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle. 'Might as well make this as dramatic as possible' Hailey told herself. "He loves me! Let me go, he loves me!" The other officers came over to help the one who was struggling to contain Hailey. If Hailey had really wanted to she could have broken away from him, but then a dozen officers would have tackled her, and she really didn't want that.

"Hailey." Marty called making his way towards her. "Hailey listen to me, he doesn't care about you, okay. Your parents care about you, your dad, Jim; and your mother, Barbara. Don't forget about your siblings, Jimmy and Jamie." Marty spoke in a deep and calming voice, Hailey pretended like what he was saying had some effect and stopped struggling. "There's a good girl, now come with me to the car, and we'll get you taken care of." Hailey nodded and followed him out of the mall. Even though she knew Marty was just doing what he thought to be the best thing, she couldn't help but feel like he was taking away her freedom. Once outside Hailey saw the car with Will in it, he looked at her and she shook her head; he shouldn't follow her. Will looked down and punched the seat, he felt as if he had failed. Any punishment the Joker gave him, even death, wouldn't be as bad as his own guilt. With these morbid thoughts he turned on eth car and drove away from Hailey.


	10. My Girl

Hailey sat in the back of the police car silently cursing herself. She should have just mail ordered something! The Joker was right, she got caught, and now what would she do? Hailey stared out of the window of the car longingly. In a way the Joker and his guys were more of a family to her than her actual family. The Joker was, strangely enough, the only man she completely trusted and he had done more for her than her own father. Doc, he was like fun uncle she had never had, and Will, he was like a brother to her. She loved him like family. A tear fell from Hailey's eye as she realized that she would probably never see any of them again. The policemen in the car weren't really sure what to do, they had all known Hailey since she was a little girl, but this wasn't the Hailey they knew, she had changed. She had willingly gone with the Joker, and it was obvious that she didn't want to talk to any of them, and what had she been doing at the mall anyway. Since neither party knew what to say the ride remained silent. Hailey took off her blonde wig to reveal her red hair. She smiled as she looked at the deep red color, remembering why it was no longer black. The Joker. It all came back to Jay, and now, now she would never see him again. She would probably never be let out of the house again, or if she were aloud out she would probably be surrounded by ten bodyguards. Hailey looked at the bracelet she was wearing, it had been a gift from Jay to officially welcome her to the hideout, to her home. The bracelet was silver, with three diamonds in the middle and rubies, and sapphires on each side. Hailey was almost positive Jay had stolen it, but it was still beautiful and she loved it. She couldn't help thinking that her parents hadn't even gotten her such a nice gift. The driver slamming on the breaks brought Hailey out of her musings; a tree had just fallen over in front of them, blocking the road. "Shit, what are we going to do now?" the driver asked.

"Back it up, we'll have to go around." Marty replied. Hailey hadn't even noticed he was riding shotgun.

"Or you could let me go." Hailey spoke for the first time, finally getting her voice back. Both cops turned around to stare at her in disbelief. "Or not, it was just an idea." Hailey replied slowly coming back to herself. She had just started to live again; she wasn't about to stop now.

"Hailey," Marty spoke softly, like he was speaking with a child.

"Marty, I'm not a child so that tone is just annoying." Hailey told him before he could get any farther. "And I know what you're going to say, 'Hailey the Joker is bad, he's brainwashed you, its just Stockholm Syndrome talking, its not really you. You don't really care about him; he doesn't care about you. But we car, me, your parents, your siblings, think about Jimmy and Jamie, they miss you, come back.'" Hailey finished. "But you're wring about three things. One, I do care about Jay, I trust him completely; two, he does care about me, why else would he kill Maroni right after I tell him exactly what happened with the mob-" Hailey was cut off by Marty.

"You told him?" He yelled. "You told the Joker when you wouldn't tell your own father, and since when do you call him Jay?"

"Yes I told him, and I've called him Jay since I woke up in bed next to him the night after I ran away. And for my third point Jimmy and Jamie don't miss me, because I've visited them when my parents are out." Hailey replied calmly. "Oh, and if the Joker didn't care, why would he buy me this bracelet?" Hailey asked, showing Marty her wrist where the bracelet sparkled. Marty grabbed her wrist to get a better look at her bracelet. When he saw it close up he couldn't believe it, it was amazing, must have cost a fortune! 'But he must have stolen it' he told himself. Once again hatred for the Joker filled him as he gazed upon the bracelet, he had stolen it and given it to Hailey, causing her to think that he cared about her, which he didn't!

"Turn the car around!" Marty barked at the driver, too mad to respond to Hailey. He wasn't mad at Hailey, it wasn't her fault, despite what she said it _was_ Stockholm Syndrome and soon she would be back to normal.

The driver went to turn around but found himself blocked by two cars. One, Marty recognized as the car that had been outside the entrance of the mall when they brought Hailey out, and the other was a black pick-up-truck with tinted windows. "Move aside, this is the police, we need to get to the station." Marty yelled into the megaphone. There was a silence as they waited for the person to reply. After a few minutes Marty was just about to speak up again when the door to the truck opened up and the Joker stepped out.

"Sure, just give me back my girl." He spoke lowly; it was obvious to anyone that he was angry beyond belief. Hailey's face broke out into a smile, Jay had come for her, she would be okay.

"No way Joker, you're not getting her again!" Marty spat back

"Well," The Joker paused for dramatic effect, "The way I see it, you don't have much of a choice. There's a tree in front of you, and here I am behind you." The Joker smirked in victory. Hailey saw Marty reach fro his gun and lift it up.

"Jay look out!" Hailey screamed, her voice cracking in fear as Marty shot at the Joker. Joker dodged out of the way just in time and ducked behind his truck. Hailey sighed in relief; he was okay. Marty turned to look at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed. "I could've gotten him. All of this," he motioned to the Joker and the cars in front of them, "would have gone away."

"What makes you think I would want all of this," Hailey motioned again to the Joker and everything else, "to got away?" She looked at Marty. "For the last time I care about him, and obviously he cares about me! Why else would he be here?" Hailey screamed. All of her pent up aggression was finally coming out.

"Because your father is the Commissioner! You're Hailey _Gordon_, your father makes you who you are. He wants you for the same reason the mob did-"

"Don't!" Hailey snapped glaring at Marty with all of the hate she could muster. "You have no idea, NO IDEA what you're talking about. Do you understand me? Never, NEVER! Say that Jay is after the same thing as the mob. He is NOT like them. They are complete monsters, they have no limits, they kidnapped a fifteen year old girl and tortured her for information she didn't have!" Hailey angrily wiped away a tear that had found itself past her eye.

"Hailey…I," Marty started, his voice softer.

"Don't, save your breath." Hailey told him. "Goodbye Marty." With that Hailey hit him over the head with the gun she had taken from his seat during the discussion. Before the driver could react she hit him over the head as well and climbed out of the car. You know how in the movies once the girl gets rescued by her man, the world seems to stop and they embrace and kiss passionately, forgetting whatever just happened? Well this isn't how it worked for Hailey and the Joker. As soon as Hailey reached him she fell against him and anguished sobs racked her body. Even though she cared about the Joker, and was glad to be back with him, she did care about Marty, he was like an uncle to her. And she knew now that if she were caught again it would be worse, she had attacked two officers, and Stockholm or not, that was a federal crime. The Joker seemed to know exactly what was going through her mind at that moment, but he also knew they had to leave. The cops wouldn't stay unconscious for long.

"C'mon doll, let's get you home." The Joker spoke putting his arm around her shoulder protectively. Hailey allowed him to lead her to the truck and simply stared out the window the entire ride back letting the tears continue to fall from her eyes, cascading down her pale face, and no doubt smearing all of her make-up. Hailey hardly noticed when the truck stopped and the Joker got out of the truck to help her down. Hailey silently took Jay's arm as he helped her out. They walked into the hideout in silence while Will and another clown, Jake, followed them.

After they were inside Hailey looked up at the Joker, in her eyes the Joker could clearly see all of her pain and confusion. "Don't hurt Will." Hailey whispered before turning away and walking up the stairs. The Joker stared after her ten turned around to Will sharply.

"You're lucky she likes you so much, otherwise you would be dead, or close to it. You should have gone after her right away, not called me then waited for me. Or better yet, you shouldn't have split up in the first place!" The Joker fumed before heading upstairs. When he reached his room he walked in slowly, not sure what shape he would find Hailey in. When he looked over at his bed he saw her fast asleep, curled into a little ball, trying to make herself as small as possible. The Joker looked at her and couldn't believe that someone so small, so fragile, had changed him so much. Sighing deeply he undressed and climbed into bed next to her, pulling the covers up to stop her shivering. Softly he wiped away a tear on Hailey's cheek, even in her sleep she was upset. The Joker wished he could do something for her, anything to make her feel better. But he didn't know what he could do; he didn't have much experience with women, and even if he had he highly doubted many people had been through this experience. Shaking his head he fell asleep, this day did not go the way he had intended.

Mary woke up with a huge headache. Rubbing the back of his head he slowly remembered what had happened and cursed under his breath. Waking up Karl, the driver, Marty thought about what he could do. Suddenly remembering something he smiled as they made their way back to the station. Gordon was at the station waiting, and his face instantly fell as soon as he realized that Hailey wasn't with them. "What happened? Where's Hailey? Why isn't she with you?" he asked quickly.

"We were all set to bring her back when the Joker showed up." Marty explained. "He took her back." Marty conveniently forgot to mention the part about Hailey stopping him from killing the Joker and then later knocking them out, he figured Gordon was going through enough without the knowledge that his daughter had assaulted two of his friends.

"Well what are we going to do? And why are you smiling!" Jim screamed, overcome by grief.

"Don't worry Jim, I've got it all under control." Marty explained.

"All under control, all under control!" Gordon yelled at Marty again. "My daughter has been turned against us by that monster and now she's back with him! And you think that everything is under control!"

"Yes," Marty replied. "Because I can find the Joker's hideout, and Hailey. We'll be killing two birds with one stone."

"How?" it came out of Jim's mouth in no more than a whisper, but Marty understood it.

"Simple, when Hailey showed me the bracelet the Joker stole for her-"

"He gave her a bracelet!" Jim interrupted shocked. 'Maybe he does really like her' part of his mind said. 'Well even if he does like her he can't have her, he's evil and she's my daughter' the other part of him replied. Looking up he realized Marty had been talking. "I'm sorry what did you say?' He asked Marty breaking away from his thoughts.

"I said that I put a tracking device on the bracelet, so if we go over to the computers we should be able to find where they're staying, kill the Joker, and get your daughter back." Marty explained again. "So let's go over here." He walked over to the computers, "and plug in the number if the tracker, number 1349 and…" they waited for the screen to load. "There, it looks like they're about twenty minutes away form the city, where the old dairy farm used to be back in the old days." Mary said.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get my daughter back!" Gordon said.

"Yeah, and kill that bastard!' Marty added smirking at the thought of being the one to end that evil and twisted life.


	11. For The Ones You Love

Hailey woke up peacefully to the pleasant feeling of Jay's arm around her waist, holding her closely. Hailey allowed herself a couple more minutes of bliss before opening her eyes. Once she was completely awake she realized her throat was burning, it was then that the events of the day before came crashing down on her. Hailey curled up into an even smaller ball and hugged herself tightly. She had given up her family, and she had attacked Marty, _Marty_, the man who was like a second father to her. Sitting in the dark Hailey wondered if it had all been worth it, giving up her old life for this. The Joker let out a sigh in his sleep and reached his arm out, searching for Hailey. A small smile graced her lips as she felt Jay pull her into him, of course it was worth it, this was her Jay, the man who had saved her countless times and would continue saving her in the future. Putting her lips next to his ear she decided to wake him up, "Morning Jay." She whispered softly, wanting to wake him gently. She heard him groan and giggled, he obviously did not want to be woken up. "Jay," she whined, "Get up, I'm hungry." By now Hailey had sat up on her knees causing Jay's arm to fall off of her waist and flop onto the mattress.

"Shut up." Hailey heard the muffled reply through the pillow. "Let me sleep." With that said the Joker's arm grabbed Hailey around the waist and pulled her down again. Hailey let out a small scream in surprise as she fell down next to the Joker.

"Oh, now you've done it." Hailey laughed trying to break free from the Joker's grasp. After a couple of minutes Hailey realized that she wasn't going too be able to get out of the grasp, so decided on a new plan. Smirking to herself, Hailey slid over so she was on top of the Joker, with his arm still around her. Hailey moved her legs so she was straddling him and heard him groan in annoyance, her plan was working. Lowering her head so it was just above his Hailey allowed her hair to fall into his face. "Jay, Jaaayyyyyy. JAY!" Hailey finally just yelled.

"What?" the Joker replied angrily.

"I'm bored, and hungry and," Hailey knew she was annoying the Joker, and it was very amusing.

"Well why don't you get up, go downstairs, have one of the boys make you breakfast, and then watch TV.!" he replied burying his head in the pillows, obviously trying to block out any sound. Hailey lied back down and nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck.

"But I want to be with you!" Hailey replied emphatically. She reminded herself so much of Jimmy and Jamie when they didn't get what they wanted that she started laughing hysterically. Then suddenly she burst into tears, all the emotions she had felt last night came bubbling to the surface. Even if it was worth it, she still missed her family, especially Jimmy and Jamie, they were her world.

The Joker didn't know what to do, she had been fine just a second ago, teasing him and laughing, and now all of a sudden she was crying, and she wasn't faking it either. Letting out a heavy sigh and mourning over the loss of his sleep he turned around to face Hailey. "C'mere princess," he said opening up his arms. Hailey didn't need to be told twice, she fell into the Joker's arms and cried. After a few minutes Hailey finally calmed down enough to speak.

"God, I'm an emotional wreck." She tried to laugh while wiping away her tears. "Ugh, I probably look awful," She complained looking at her hands, which were now smeared with makeup that had come off last night and this morning.

The Joker grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes, "I think you look beautiful." He replied, and he wasn't lying. Even with her hair all messed up from sleeping, her clothes all wrinkled from sleeping in them, and makeup smeared everywhere, she was beautiful. Hailey stared back, transfixed in the Joker's eyes. Both of them started to lean forward subconsciously, it was only when their lisps met that they realized they had been moving. But neither of them spent much time thinking about how they had gotten in that position, they were too involved in the kiss. For the first time since she was fifteen Hailey didn't have to fight her instincts telling her to push away the man who was kissing her, in fact, her instinct told her quiet the opposite. Hailey's arms wrapped around Jay's neck just as Jay's arms wound themselves around Hailey's waist, pulling her even closer and deepening the kiss. Neither of them knew how long the kiss lasted, but when they finally pulled apart they were out of breath.

"So," Hailey said awkwardly after a few moments of silence. "Breakfast?" The Joker laughed at how quickly Hailey's mind could change, and how such a skinny girl could love food so much.

"Breakfast." He agreed getting up and pulling on a shirt. Hailey stood up and stretched, upon seeing herself in a mirror she quickly fled to the bathroom to make herself appear at least semi-presentable. The Joker wrapped his arm around her waist as soon as she came out with her makeup re-done and her hair brushed. Hailey smiled as Jay pulled her closer, she fit perfectly, like they were made to be together. When they walked into the kitchen all the boys told Hailey how glad they were that she was all right. Only Doc noticed how Hailey and the Joker seemed to be closer, and he smiled to himself, 'It's about time those two got together.' He told himself. He cleared a place for Hailey next to him and place for the Joker next to that. Soon the aroma of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast filled the small room. A huge smile plastered itself onto Hailey's face as Jay put a pile of food in front of her.

"You know Jay, as good as this is I liked how you first made me breakfast better." Hailey smirked taking a large bite out of her toast, which she had lathered with raspberry jam.

"Oh, and how was that?" He asked smiling as he sat down next to her.

"Huge!" Hailey giggled. "There was bacon, sausage, pancakes, and hash-browns! It was heaven." she sighed dramatically.

"Looks like you've gotten better from last night." Doc mentioned, glad to see Hailey so happy, last night no one knew how she was going to act, it had been pretty emotional for her.

"Yep, if my parents can't accept the fact that I like a mass murdering clown, well sucks for them." Hailey tried to suppress a laugh, so it came out in a snort.

"Very ladylike as always." Doc joked handing Hailey a napkin to wipe up the jam that had somehow managed to come out of her nose.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that sarcasm and take it as a compliment." Hailey replied holding her head high. They all finished breakfast lightly teasing each other, even the Joker joined in, which was astounding. Doc hadn't seen him this loose in years, if ever.

"Well, I hate to break up this party, but I've gotta go, haven't worked in a while." The Joker said standing up. Hailey just nodded, she didn't want him to leave, but she knew he needed to 'work', he hadn't been out in a while, all thanks to her.

"Have fun terrorizing the city!" Hailey called out after him.

The Joker turned around and smirked, "I plan during the day toots, terrorizing happens at night."

"Oh, of course my mistake." Hailey laughed. "Well have fun anyway."

"Will do." And with that the Joker was gone. Smirking Doc walked over to her.

"So, you and the boss huh?" he teased.

"Don't ask unless you want the details." Hailey teased back, laughing at Doc's face.

"There are _details_?" he shuddered.

"No," Hailey laughed, "I just wanted to freak you out." She explained.

"Oh, well thanks for that mental image." Doc laughed.

"No problem Ben." Hailey responded smiling, something she found herself doing a lot recently.

Gordon paced around the police station; he wanted to go get his girl back NOW! But Marty said that they should wait; lull them into a false sense of security. They were going to attack at two, if they had gone out for lunch they should be back by then, but not out for the night yet. Even though it infuriated Gordon he knew it was the smart thing to do, but two just wasn't coming fast enough. "Jim, stop pacing, you'll be exhausted by the time we leave." Marty told him from behind his desk. Gordon grudgingly did as he was told and sat down at his desk. Almost everyone was on duty today, they were pretty sure the Joker wouldn't be expecting them, but they wanted to be sure.

"So to be there by two we should leave at one thirty." Gordon said drumming his fingers on his desk.

"We don't have to get there right at two, but yes leaving at one thirty would be good." Marty replied. The two men fell into a silence, both thinking of the job ahead. In the background they could hear the other officers talking amongst themselves or on the phone to their family, explaining once again why they had to come in on their day off. "So what are you going to do about Hailey?" Marty asked.

Gordon let out a heavy sigh, "I don't know, obviously she'll need therapy, this has obviously affected her, but; well Hailey and shrinks don't go together very well." He explained. Marty nodded, Jim had explained everything to him.

"Maybe we could just get her to talk about it with someone she trusted first, obviously not us, someone closer to her age, then just work from there." Marty suggested.

"Yeah, and I know just the guy." Jim responded.

"Who?" Marty inquired.

"Bruce." Marty smiled in agreement.

"Time to go." Marty said looking at his watch. "Let's go boys!" he yelled at all the officers. "Let's go get your daughter back." Gordon nodded and followed Marty to the car, after tonight this nightmare would be over, and his family would be back in place, how it was supposed to. Hailey would go back to college to finish becoming a forensic anthropologist, and she would visit them over her breaks, get together with a good guy, maybe even Bruce, she would settle down and have a family. Yes, everything would work out just fine in the end. For the rest of the ride Jim mentally prepared himself, he knew his daughter would fight him at first, she was practically brainwashed, but it would be worth it. "We're here." Marty broke Jim from his thoughts.

"Let's go in."

Hailey looked out the window in shock; there were cop cars everywhere. "How did they find us?" She screamed, this couldn't be happening, she had just gotten back, she had finally gotten somewhere with Jay, and now this. "Guys, we gotta run!" She yelled frantically. "Grab the important stuff and run for it."

"Why? What's going on?" Doc asked running over to her.

"Their here, their here for me and Jay. I can hold them off, give you guys enough time to get out, find Jay, tell him it's not safe anymore." Hailey was crying by this time. "I can't let them hurt him! You understand?" Hailey said the last part quietly.

"I understand." Doc replied, just as softly. "Take care of yourself kid."

"You too." Hailey said grabbing a gun. Doc ran away getting the guys together so they could make a run for it. Hailey closed her eyes and took in the place she had come to see as home for the last time. Opening her eyes Hailey grabbed her bag form the table and walked out the front door. Everyone fell silent as she came into view. "You can do this." She told herself setting her shoulders and holding her head up high.

"Hailey!" She heard a voice call to her. Turning around she saw Will running towards her.

"Will, get back inside! They'll shoot you!" Hailey screamed, he couldn't get killed; no one could get hurt for her, no one!

"I can't let them take you, I promised the Joker." He told her.

"I don't care what you promised him, I promised myself I wouldn't let any of you get hurt for me!" Hailey argued.

"Well that's just too bad because I promised myself I wouldn't let you get taken away again when it was in my power to stop it."

"It's not in your power Will, they'll kill you!" Hailey screamed, tears streaming down her face. "You can't save me."

"Well then I'll die trying." He told her smiling sadly. "I protect my family."

"Step away from the girl!" they heard a policeman call through a megaphone. "Put your hands in the air NOW!"

"Will, please, please go." Hailey begged, but Will just shook his head no. Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a gun and held it up.

"Put the gun down, we will shoot you." The same officer said.

"Will just go-" Hailey was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Looking to the side she saw Will fall to the ground, a bullet to his chest. "No! Will!" Hailey fell down kneeling next to him. "Will, don't die, don't die, you can't die, you're my big brother remember. We still need to go shopping together again, c'mon stay awake!" She screamed, anguish filling her voice.

"Take….care….of yourself….luv." Will struggled to say.

"No, ssshhh, save your energy, hush focus on breathing." Hailey cried, her tears falling don onto Will's jacket.

"Tell….the boss….I….I…tried." Will gasped, and then fell limp in Hailey's arms. She starred at his body for a moment before standing up, his discarded gun held tightly in her hand.

"Hailey, step away from the body." A new voice spoke up.

"That's not a body." Hailey said softly. "THAT WAS WILL!" She screamed. "And you bastards just shot him! You shot him." She repeated softly. "You shot my big brother."

"What is she talking about?" Gordon asked Marty from the car. "That's not the Joker, so why does she care?"

"Maybe it was some guy she befriended." He suggested. Gordon nodded, accepting that as probably true. "Wait, what is she doing?" He asked looking up at Hailey. Hailey had cocked the gun and pointed it at her head.

"Hailey!" Gordon yelled reaching out, as if he could stop her. Hailey was visibly shaking, but she had to give the rest of the guys enough time to get out. Hailey turned around and saw Doc running towards her.

"Hands up!" The same officer yelled at Doc.

"Don't come any closer!" Hailey yelled. "And don't shoot, I'll pull the trigger, I swear I will!" She threatened the police. Doc made it to her side and grabbed Will, he turned to look at Hailey before running away cradling Will in his arms.

"Okay, we won't do anything just put the gun down." The officer said in a calm voice, obviously trying to talk some sense into Hailey, but they were threatening her family, she was beyond talk of reason. Hailey saw the police surrounding the house, and she knew for a fact that some of the guys were still in there.

"You die for those you love." She told herself before she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

A/N 1: so you guys probably hate me right now right? But I did update really quickly, so maybe you can forgive me? If you're really nice and leave reviews I'll update soon so you can all find out what happens.

A/N 2: So some people think that Marty and Gordon are evil, and I know it looks that way, but that's not what I meant to have happen, it just did. But looked at it from their point of view. They don't know the nice side of the Joker, all they see is the mass murderer who kidnapped Hailey that one time. They just care about her and are doing their job

A/N 3: so irrelevant to the story I want to start posting another story, but I have a lot and don't know which one to do so please look at my profile and either send me a message or leave your preference in a review. Thanks everyone.


	12. Bloody Shirts and Letters

"_You die for those you love." She told herself before she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger."_ Gordon watched in horror as his daughter pulled the trigger to the gun she held to her head, he reached out his arm, as if that could stop her. He prepared himself for the crack of a gunshot that would symbolize the end of his daughter's life, but nothing happened; the sound never came. Opening up his eyes he hadn't even realized he had closed, Gordon saw Hailey stare at the gun like it had betrayed her.

"It's empty." Gordon breathed a sigh of relief; she was alive, everything would be okay. "Move in guys." He told all the officers, he didn't want there to be time for anything else dramatic to happen.

Hailey just stood there as the police surrounded her. She let her head fall down in defeat; it was over, it was all over. They were going to take her, and this time Jay wouldn't be able to save her. She realized that no one knew where he was. He could be hurt or in trouble, and he would come back here expecting Doc and everyone to be able to help him, but they would all be gone. If he came back here he would no doubt be caught, that couldn't happen! The guys _had_ to find him before he tried to come back here! She allowed herself to be led to a police car with these thought circling in her head. 'At least everyone made it out all right.' She though to herself, 'They'll all be okay.' She tried so had to believe that but then she remembered the sound of a gun shot ringing out, and the thud the body had made as it hit the ground. 'Except Will.' She reminded herself bitterly. He had died trying to protect her; these people had shot him. Will was just a kid, a couple years older than her, and they had _shot_ him! For what seemed the hundredth time this week Hailey felt tears welling up in her eyes and allowed them to spill over, cascading down her face. Why should she car what she looked like, everything that had mattered to her for the past couple of weeks was gone, and she was being forced back to her old life. The life where she had to pretend that everything was okay, that she wasn't always terrified that the mob was out to get her. She was going back to the place where anything under perfect wasn't good enough.

Gordon looked behind him at his daughter. She hadn't even noticed him; she was a wreck. Hailey just continued starred out the window, not saying anything, not fighting them; not doing anything at all. It was like she had died back there when they had shot that stupid kid. "Hailey," he spoke up after minutes of silence. He was hoping for some sort of reply, but all her got was a look of complete loathing. He had expected her to be upset, but he hadn't expected to see hatred in his daughter's eyes, and he especially didn't expect to see that hatred directed towards him.

Hailey looked away from her father before reaching into her bag and pulling out the shirt and pants she had bought for her dad. "That's what I was doing at the mall." She replied hoarsely. "It's the last present you'll ever get from me." Gordon looked at his daughter in shock. She had still cared after everything. She had still bought him a present, for his birthday yesterday. For a fleeting moment he thought he still had a chance, but then he realized that things had changed since yesterday. Yesterday he hadn't had one of his men kill her friend. She had still loved him yesterday, 'But not anymore.' Part of him reminded himself. 'You blew your chance when you bombarded her 'home. When you killed someone she obviously cared for.' Gordon shook his head; that was ridiculous, everything would turn out all right. Once Hailey got better she would love him again.

"Gordon, they all got away, they took almost everything." A policeman said over the radio. Hailey allowed herself a small sad smile after hearing this news. The guys would be okay; they would find Jay, somehow, and warn him. They would find somewhere else to stay, and even if Hailey never saw them again, which she realized she probably wouldn't, she still had her happy memories of those short few weeks.

"Well what did they leave?" Gordon demanded frustration filling his voice. Even though he had Hailey back he still wanted to catch the Joker, the bastard who had caused this whole mess.

"I'll come over to show you." The man replied, sensing that Gordon wasn't in a good mood. Hailey watched as he walked over and saw that in his arms he carried a bloody shirt and a piece of paper. Hailey gasped as she saw both items. The shirt was Jay's from when he came back after killing Maroni. 'He killed him so I could be safe' she smiled as she remembered that night. She had finally told someone everything, and she had felt so much better afterwards. And the piece of paper, she had an idea of what that was.

"A bloody shirt, and a note?" Gordon asked taking both items, obviously disappointed that it wasn't anything better or useful, like some plans the Joker had made, or contact information, however crazy that sounded. Opening the piece of paper Gordon read the note out loud. "_Went to work be back late, took most of the clowns with me. The ones still at home shouldn't bother you, I believe you've already met one of them, Doc, if you get hungry there should be food to eat somewhere. Don't wait up._

_~Jay"_

"Who is Jay?" Gordon asked confused. "And who is it written for?" He then lifted up the shirt to examine it. He wrinkled his nose as he saw how much blood there was covering the shirt. "No doubt some innocent persons blood." He told himself, disgust filling his voice as he flung the shirt away from him.

Hailey had had enough; he could come and take her away from her family, fine. He could care more about catching the Joker than getting his daughter back, fine. But he could NOT call Maroni's blood innocent! So, she snapped. "It's The Joker to you, he's my Jay, and only _my_ Jay, and that blood is Maroni's. I'd hardly call that innocent blood, would you?" She hissed grabbing both items and holding them close to her. She breathed in the scent and allowed a small smile to grace her lips, even covered in blood it the shirt smelled like the Joker; that at least brought her a small amount of comfort. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine Jay sitting next to her, telling her what he was planning for that day, or asking her what she wanted for dinner; or Hailey's favorite memory, and one that had happened so recently; Jay leaning in and kissing her. Hailey remained silent the rest of the ride, just holding the shirt and letter in her hand. These were the last reminders she had of Jay, and she was going to keep them no matter what.

Doc looked behind him sadly as he saw Hailey hold the gun to her head. She was the bravest person he had ever met. She was wiling to die to save them, and Doc was going to make sure she didn't die in vain. He looked down at Will who had stopped breathing a long time ago, but Doc couldn't bring himself to leave him. "Doc let's go! We need to get out of here!" he heard Phil call from the car. Squaring his shoulders Doc turned away from Hailey and got in next to Phil. As they drove away he couldn't help but to feel as if he were driving away from the best thing that had ever happened to him. Hailey was the sweetest girl he had ever met, and went out of her way to befriend all of the clowns. She knew that deep down they were all good guys, they just didn't have the options in life most people had, and for most of them it was either this or sleeping on the streets. That's what it had been like for him. "Where are we going?" Phil asked, tearing Doc away from his thoughts and breaking the silence.

"We need someplace to bury Will." He replied, once again bringing his attention to the now lifeless body he held in his arms. "Hailey would never forgive us if we didn't even bury him." He added.

"You're right, she'd skin us in our sleep." Phil agreed trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. Too much had happened to have a simple joke make things better.

"If she's still alive." Doc replied sadly, he hoped she was.

"What do you mean if she's still alive? The police wouldn't kill her, she's the whole reason they came out here." Phil asked in a slightly panicked tone.

"She picked up Will's gun, and was pointing it to her head, she wanted to make sure everyone got out, and she saw the police closing in. I'm not sure if she pulled the trigger or not." Doc answered sadly, his voice almost breaking. It wasn't fair, she was such a nice person, she had so much to give to the world. Finally after what seemed like hours, but was in reality only minutes Phil pulled the car up to and old unkempt cemetery.

"This place is run down, and it's not used that much anymore. It would be years, if ever, that anyone found him." Phil explained turning off the engine.

"Good, good." Doc said absentmindedly. "We should hurry though, we need to find the boss to warn him not to go back to the hideout, there'll probably be police watching that place for a while." Doc said stepping out of the car slowly, trying to be as gentle as possible with Will. He just couldn't quite grasp the fact that Will was dead; it didn't seem possible.

"Let's get going then, we have no idea where he could be." Phil replied. They started walking around the cemetery, hoping that they weren't spotted. "So where do you want to burry him?" He asked motioning to Will.

"Somewhere nice, he deserves that, he was a good kid." Doc replied looking over the graveyard. "How about there." He pointed to an apple tree that was in bloom. The tree looked beautiful, it had a bunch of pink flowers all over it that seemed to glow in the sunlight.

"It's a good spot, people don't normally get buried by trees so there's a better shot at him not being found." Phil answered. It was times like these when Doc wondered exactly how Phil knew all of this. "Well, let's get going." The two men worked quickly and in silence, they couldn't be caught here; people would think they had killed Will, and not only was that false but the police would be after them, again. Finally after about twenty minutes the grave was dug, Will was lowered into it, and the grave was filled back up again.

After a few moments of silence in respect Doc spoke up, "Let's go warn the boss." Phil nodded in agreement and the two men left in search of the Joker.

"Where do you think we should start?" Phil asked in a hushed tone, fro some reason he felt that they shouldn't speak loudly just yet.

"The docks I guess, then just make our way around the town as much as possible, he normally comes back around five, so if we haven't found him by 4:45 we should head back to the hideout and wait for him near-by." Doc replied, letting out a heavy sigh. "God, this day defiantly did not go the way I expected. It started out so nice."

"What do you mean it started out nice? What happened?" Phil asked curiously, he hadn't noticed anything special about it.

"Hailey and the boss finally kissed." Doc replied smiling at the memory of Hailey teasing him about it, was that only this morning? It seemed like so long ago.

"Wow, poor boss, he's gonna go crazy when he finds out she's gone." Phil commented. The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence again, both thinking about the same thing; how everything would be different without Hailey, the Joker would probably go and do something crazy, without even caring about the consequences. He really liked Hailey. Phil pulled up to the docks and saw a bunch of cars already there, looking closer he realized it was all of their cars, the whole gang was here. He quickly pulled up next to them and parked. Phil and Doc scrambled out of the car to join the others who were just standing around, obviously at a loss of what to do.

"Hey, where's Will?" Mark asked looking around for him. "We all though he was with you guys. Doc fell silent; he didn't want to vocalize it; that would make it real.

" He was, but now he's six feet under." Phil replied sadly. "He got shot by the cops trying to save Hailey." There was a number of mumbled, "Poor Will" or "Good kid" from the gang before they all fell silent.

"Well we need to find the boss, and quickly too. I think we should all split up; break up the town into grids. That way we have a better chance of finding him. If you find him come back here and wait. If by 4:45 you haven't found him, come back here and one of us will go by the old hideout to wait for him. The cops will probably be watching that place for a while now." Doc told everyone. The next fifteen minutes were spent splitting up the town into sections and designating who would get what section. Finally they all split up and went out in search of the Joker, they all hoped they could find him in time.

A/N1: so what do you guys think? Did I update fast enough? I worked really hard and really quickly on this chapter, so if I made any dumb little errors I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I caught all of them

A/N2: I would like to thank 502, BathIsRANDOM, SakuraBlossom58, Lilly (if you're reading this thanks so much! I'm going to go back and change some of the things like you suggested) and vampheart410 for commenting. It really means a lot to me that you take the time to leave a review. You all have them to thank for me posting this so quickly.

A/N3: and just like I said last chapter please look on my profile page and let me know which story you guys want me to post next.


	13. Panic

Hailey was interrupted from her thoughts by the car coming to a stop. Looking around she saw they had reached the police station. Hailey sighed; she was going to be interrogated, if they honestly expected anything from her they were going to be in for a surprise. Hailey allowed herself to be led in silence to the station and sat in one of the chairs, they didn't handcuff her; she wasn't really under arrest. Hailey was left alone for a few precious moments. Hailey knew what they were going to ask her, and she knew that she wouldn't reply. In the back of her mind Hailey knew that these were actually the good guys, and the Joker was bad, but the thing was, that to her the Joker was good. He cared about her and protected her with all that he could, something her own family had never done. Hailey allowed her mind to wander and thought about the few short weeks she had been with the guys, how at first she hated them, after all she was her father's daughter. But soon she came to realize that they weren't all bad. Hailey's mind flashed to this morning, she knew she had looked like a complete mess, but to Jay she was still beautiful. And that kiss-. An officer walking in interrupted Hailey from her thoughts; she noticed he wasn't one she knew very well. 'They probably think they'll get more information out of me if it's a guy I don't know.' Hailey told herself.

"Miss Gordon," the officer began nervously. Hailey felt bad for him, he probably knew how much this interrogation mattered.

"Yeah?" Hailey responded, her voice hoarse from crying and not talking.

"I want to explain to you that we are here to help you, and all we want is what's best for you." He told her. Hailey nodded signaling that she understood, the man continued. "I would like to know what happened from the moment you met the Joker."

Hailey looked at him like he was crazy, did he realize how long that was, and how much had happened. Hailey looked at the clock on the wall, it read 2:37; they were in for a long night. Hailey knew they wouldn't let her go, so she was going to take as long as possible to tell this story, just to annoy them. "Well, it all began when the Joker came to visit me at my job-" She was cut off.

"I noticed you called him the Joker there, why not Jay?" The man asked. Hailey realized that this man must be an FBI psychologist. Hailey went stiff as she realized that she was locked in a room with a shrink. The rational part of her brain told her that her father wouldn't let him in unless he knew he could be trusted, but her emotional side was telling her to get the hell out of there.

"I would like to speak to someone else please." Hailey said, trying to keep her voice steady; it didn't work. Her voice was no more than a whisper and she was now shaking uncontrollably. She cursed herself for being this weak, but she couldn't help it, the nightmares that had been held off by Jay's presence came flashing back to her, filling her mind. Hailey tried to shake her head to make the pictures go away, but they refused to budge. With each passing second the images got worse and worse, and Hailey started to breath even quicker. Hailey couldn't even see the interrogation room anymore, all her senses were brought back to those days, when she was young and fragile, she couldn't defend herself, and every time it got worse, and every day she got weaker. In the back of her mind Hailey realized she was having a panic attack, but realizing something and stopping it are two completely different things.

The shrink had called for help as soon as she started hyperventilating. Gordon had told him she was afraid of shrinks, but he hadn't realized how afraid she was. Quickly men filed into the room trying to calm Hailey down, but she just screamed at them and tried to get as far away as possible. Finally the ambulance came and they gave her a drug that knocked her out. Gordon watched silently as his daughter was finally subdued, wishing that there was something he could do for her. Realizing all he could do was to be there for her he followed the doctors to the ambulance and got in with them. On the way to the hospital Gordon told the doctors what had probably caused the panic attack. "But that's never happened before, I mean granted she's never seen one since the incident, but I didn't think it was that bad." Gordon admitted. "I know that she's had nightmares before, anyone would after what she's been through, but they were always only nightmares. She was always perfectly fine during the day." Gordon finished and the rest of the ride was silent. Once at the hospital Gordon called his wife to tell her everything that had happened. Afterwards he just sat in Hailey's room waiting for her to wake up.

It only took about 30 minutes for Hailey to wake up, which was strange because it was supposed to knock a person out for at least two hours. Hailey's eyes flew open in fear when she realized she was no longer in the interrogation room. Her gaze fell on her father, who looked like he was about to break down from concern. "Hailey, I'm so sorry, I didn't think it was that bad, if I had known I would have never even thought of putting you in a room with him." He explained, trying to get Hailey to understand. Hailey nodded in understanding, she knew her father never meant to hurt her, but that didn't mean she had completely forgiven her yet.

"I don't like being knocked out." She responded, "I don't know what happens when I'm not awake." She explained. Gordon nodded in understanding, wishing that weren't the case; that his daughter hadn't been through what she had.

"The doctors said that as soon as you were awake we could go home, is that ok or do you want to stay here?" He asked her, glad that she was actually talking to him now.

"What time is it?" She asked sitting up.

"It's almost four." He replied glancing at his watch. "Why?"

"Well I kind of just want to get the stupid interrogation over with." She replied honestly, she had, had enough of lying to everyone. If they didn't like what she said, well sucks for them.

"Hailey, it's not really an interrogation," Gordon started but Hailey cut him off.

"Yes it is dad, don't lie, you're trying to get information out of me about the Joker, and stuff like that, it's an interrogation." Hailey smirked at her dad's face; she had never talked back to her parents before. Gordon sighed, knowing Hailey was right.

"Ok, well if you feel up to it." He replied calling for a nurse. Within the hour they were checked out and ready to go. The car ride back to the station was quiet, but not the uncomfortable silence it had been before, Hailey had realized that she had probably been a little harsh on her father before, had she been in his shoes, she would have done the same thing. They finally pulled up to the station and Hailey got out and walked back into the interrogation room. After a few minutes an actual police officer walked into the room to begin the questioning.

"Ok so, can you tell me what happened since you met the Joker?" He asked the same question she had been asked earlier.

Hailey smirked, something she had picked up from the Joker, "Why yes I can," She replied starting. "I first met the Joker when he came into the 7/11 I worked at to 'introduce' himself. He was wearing his typical make-up and purple suit. I was in the back when he came in doing some paper work, which is so boring by the way. It's all about how much milk we sold on Thursday, and which eggs are selling better this week so we can try and make a better profit." Hailey paused to take a breath; she had said all of that at once. "Anyway I came out after he was threatening people and told me he knew I didn't have a break because he had been stalking me, so I walked out, I mean I wasn't going to be responsible for him killing a little boy. As I walked out I noticed him looking me over, my hair was in my face a little bit and I was wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans and a," Hailey paused to think, "I think I was wearing a light gray T-shirt with a swirling design on it. Anyway, I asked him what he wanted and he called me beautiful then asked me if I knew how I got his scars. I replied sarcastically asking him if anybody did, then listed off all of the versions he's told different people." Hailey continued to ramble on about the smallest little details so after an hour she had just gotten to the part where she woke up in a chair. Hailey noticed that the police officer was getting bored with everything she was saying, but she just smirked again and continued with her story. "So I woke up and struggled against the bonds but, they were really good knots, I want to say it was a Palomar knot, but I'm not sure. So then I was on the phone telling him not to let the Joker go because I was just one person and the Joker would kill even more people if he got out, but then the two guys in there with me started beating the crap out of me until I screamed and then my dad wussed out and let him go. I asked the Joker if he was going to let me go and he said probably not." Hailey looked at the officer to see how bored he was yet. "So then he came back as I was trying to escape, I had been untied while I was being beaten. So I told him that he wouldn't win and such, then he told me I was cute when I got angry and 'tried to be inspirational'. Personally I think I'm cute all of the time, but to each his own right?" Hailey asked the officer.

"Um, right." He replied not really knowing what top say. Hailey just smiled and continued to ramble on an on about what had happened. When she finally got to the part where she got home and started to continue explaining everything it was seven and the officer stopped her. "I just need to know about the parts involving the Joker and you when there were no witnesses." He told her.

"Well then I don't need to tell you anything." Hailey said in a falsely innocent voice. "I mean God's always watching." She tried to keep the humor out of her voice as she watched the officer's face; he was obviously trying to stay calm, knowing that he would be in trouble if he snapped at her. Hailey almost felt bad for him, it must be hard questioning your boss's daughter.

"I mean any _people_ not affiliated with the Joker." He clarified.

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so?" Hailey asked putting on her best innocent face and smiling up at the officer. "In that case it would be after Bruce's party when I ran away from home. I ended up at the docks by accident because I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going, I had meant to go to my friend Jenna's house, but my mind had been wandering. _So_ I turned around to leave when I bumped into someone, and guess who it was?" She asked.

"The Joker?" The officer replied in a monotone.

"Nope, it was a bum who trued to mug me, but _then_ the Joker showed up and killed him before he could rape me." Hailey corrected. "And then…" Hailey trailed off to ramble on about every detail she could possibly think about, it took another hour and a half before the officer snapped.

"Ok! I just need to know the main points, like what you talked about, no the wallpaper in the kitchen, or how many dishes you saw on the counter!"

"But you told me to tell you everything, I was just doing what you asked." Hailey replied smiling brightly at him. Before he could reply the door was opened and Marty walked in.

"You're shift is over." He told the officer. Hailey could say that she had never seen an officer happier to leave work in all of her life. Hailey heard her stomach growl and realized she hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning, and even though it was huge, it was now a little past seven at night.

"Do I get to eat?" Hailey asked seriously, not sure what the reply was going to be, after all she was being extremely difficult.

Marty looked at her like she was crazy. "Of course, it's against the law to starve you." He replied.

Doc and Phil raced down the streets of Gotham frantically looking for the Joker; they had to find him in time. Finally at 4:30 they were in a random alley when they found him. "Boss!" Doc called out desperately. The Joker turned at him with a scowl.

"Why are you guys here?" He growled, "I don't trust the other guys around Hailey without either me or you there." There was an awkward silence; neither Doc nor Phil wanted to be the one to tell the Joker what happened, especially since he had a knife in his hands.

"Um, well," Doc cleared his throat nervously, "About that." The Joker looked up expectantly, waiting for him to continue. "Well, the cops they kind of found our place and came."

"They did WHAT?" The Joker screamed, interrupting Doc.

Phil spoke up, "Hailey was the first to see them coming and told everyone to run; she grabbed her bag and walked outside." He was cut off by the Joker; who slammed him into a wall.

"AND YOU DIDN'T STOP HER?" He yelled. His eyes glared into Phil's, daring him to talk back.

"Well, Will tried to tell her to run," Doc started. "But, he got shot, he's dead, we buried him a couple hours ago." The Joker let go of Phil reluctantly, and Phil fell to the ground gasping.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get her back!" The Joker said, borderline frantic. Doc sighed heavily before responding.

"Um, well you see," He stopped to clear his throat again; nervous would be an understatement to explain how he was feeling right now. "Well, Will had, had a gun and Hailey freaked when they shot him, and she picked up the gun and held it to her head, and ." Doc finished in a rush.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that." The Joker growled.

"I left before I saw if she pulled the trigger or not." He repeated, terrified of what the Joker's reaction would be. Whatever he expected it was not what happened. The Jokers shoulders sagged and he fell to his knees, letting out a cry of complete anguish. Doc and Phil just looked at each other, not sure what to do. They Joker had never been like this before. "But, she's probably alive, I mean something would have happened if she had died." Doc tried to reason.

"There're going to fucking pay of she's dead." The Joker growled out finally. "C'mon lets go find a new hideout." The Joker walked over to his car, Doc got in with him. "We were supposed to meet everyone back at the docks if we found you." He told the Joker.

"Fine, then we'll go find a new hideout, and plan how to get Hailey back, she's alive. I _know_ she is." The Joker said, trying to convince himself more than anything. She had to be alive, or Gotham would not like the consequences.


	14. Nightmare

"And then you guys had to come a ruin everything by showing up and taking me away." Hailey finished around one in the morning. The officer she had been talking to sighed heavily in relief, obviously thankful that she was done talking. Although Hailey had said a lot she never gave anything away that would be remotely useful in the search for the Joker, and she still hadn't told anyone but Jay what happened with the mob.

"I'll be back." He told her getting up and leaving the room. He rubbed his face tiredly; he had not expected that to take so long. As soon as he was gone Hailey heard a rustling sound behind her and looked up to see the Batman.

Hailey would have been shocked had she not been so tired, it had been an emotional day and if the officer thought he was tired after listening to her, he had no idea how tiring it was to tell that story. Hailey just stared at the Batman for a couple of minutes, neither of them saying anything. "Where is he?" Batman finally asked in his gruff voice.

"I don't know," Hailey replied honestly. When the Batman gave her a look, obviously not believing her she continued. "No really, all he said was that he was going out, he didn't tell me where. And even if he did I doubt he would still be in the same place he was like 12 hours ago." Batman responded with a grunt. "Wait," Hailey said happily. "Does this mean he wasn't caught? He didn't go back to the hideout? He's safe!" Batman nodded grudgingly, and for the first time since she had been taken Hailey let a real smile grace her lips. "Thank God," She breathed out.

"Why do you care?" Batman asked her, honestly curious. He had no idea how someone could care for that…thing.

"I don't know." Hailey responded after a moment. "I just, do." Hailey paused to think and Batman remained quiet, knowing this was the most useful information anyone had gotten so far. "Maybe it's because he's the first person who actually went out after the people who took me and, I don't know, actually did something." Hailey had quieted down. "I mean, I love my dad, I really do, but all he's done is made empty threats to the mob, and promise me they would never get me again. But he didn't know that for sure, and the day the Joker took me about an hour after the mob blew up my work, I would have still been in there, if it weren't for the Joker." Hailey explained.

"So you feel like you owe your life to the Joker?" Batman asked, trying to understand.

"No," Hailey replied, confusing him even further. "He didn't know about the mob trying to kill me when he took me, at first, back when I hated him, he tried to make it seem like he saved me, but the fact that he didn't know made it ridiculous to believe that he 'saved' me from anything." Hailey paused before continuing. "I guess what I meant by that is my dad can try his best to save me from the mob, but unless he locks me up in a tower where no one but him knows where I am, the mob can always get me, because he won't go and kill them."

"But the Joker will," Batman supplied, starting to possibly understand.

"Yeah, he will." Hailey smiled to herself. "Look," She started again, "I know he's a bad man alright? And I know that he's killed hundreds of people, and hurt many more, but he hasn't done that to me. He's not the nicest person in the world, I'll admit. He's not what anyone would consider boyfriend material, even how he acts around me. Even though he's mostly Jay around me, the Joker part of him never really leaves, it's always there, somewhere." Hailey fell silent after that, shocked that she had just told Batman, Joker's worst enemy, all of that. But she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. And for some reason she trusted the Batman. Maybe it was because he wore a mask, and it was almost as if she weren't really talking to a person. But whatever it was it didn't really make a difference, she was still stuck here, and she highly doubted just because she had spilled her guts to him, that Batman was going to help her break out.

Batman didn't say anything, but just walked out of the room and disappeared. Soon afterwards an officer came in and let her out. Her dad took her home a few minutes later. When Hailey saw her house she smiled, she hadn't realized it, but she had really missed it. Hailey silently stepped out of the car and walked over to the door, reaching into her pocket she pulled out her keys. As soon as she stepped through the door she was practically tacked by her mother. "Oh Hailey! I missed you so much, are you all right? It's so late! I can't believe they made you stay there so long! And especially after your attack!" Barbara was practically hysterical by now, crying everywhere.

"Mom, it's ok, I'm not physically hurt." Hailey tried to calm her down. "And I insisted we get the interrogation over with, and it was my fault it took so long." Hailey admitted, allowing herself a small smile, it had been amusing, however tiring.

"Ok, if you're sure, well you should go to sleep, you look exhausted." She told Hailey.

"You're right I am tired." Hailey said. "Well, good night." She walked up the stairs and into her room; everything was just how she left it. Hailey was fast asleep by the time her head hit the pillow; she really was exhausted.

_Hailey lied on the bed, beaten and broken, wishing death would just come, She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Just at that moment Hailey heard the dreaded sound of footsteps coming up the stairs and the jingling of keys, signaling that someone was going to come in, and nothing good ever came of that. Hailey whimpered and curled into a ball even tighter, trying in vain to protect herself from what she knew was coming. "Hey there girly." She heard a gruff voice say, as the footsteps got closer and closer to her. "Awe, c'mon, don't cry," The man cooed falsely. He kept on talking to her softly as she roughly grabbed her arms and pried them away from her body. "Stop struggling!" He snapped at her when he got fed up. "It will only make it worse." He threatened evilly. _

_ Hailey felt tears stream down her face as she allowed herself to be uncurled. Her sobs only got louder when the man got on top of her. Hailey closed her eyes and tried to imagine anything else besides what was happening currently. No matter how hard she tried she could still feel the man on top of her, letting his hands roam anywhere they wanted, and she still felt his chapped lips move roughly across her skin. Soon she heard the dull thud that signalized the worst part of this. The man smirked against her neck as he felt her tense up; he pulled out a knife and held it to her throat. "My names Bill, and I want you to scream." _

Hailey woke up suddenly, tears streaming down her face. Looking down she realized she had sweated through her clothes, and they were now completely soaked in sweat. It had been a while since she had, had nightmares, and she had forgotten how bad they were. Hailey tried to close her eyes to fall asleep again, but she was afraid to fall asleep again, so she just sat up in her bed, staring blankly at the wall, waiting for the first streams of sunlight to enter her darkened room.

The Joker, Doc, and Phil pulled up to the docks around 4:50 to find all the guys there, waiting. "Okay, who knows a place we can crash?" The Joker asked in his signature clown voice.

"There are a number of abandoned buildings by the narrows, I'm sure one of them would work for right now." One guy answered.

"Good, alright everyone; lets move out!" The Joker commanded. "Except you," Joker said pointing to a random guy. "You go and find out if Hailey's alive." The Joker kept his voice cold, trying to keep down any emotion. It was bad enough that Doc and Phil had seen him break down, no one else could.

"How will I find you guys?" he answered.

"It will be the building with a bunch of cars around it." The Joker answered like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Now go!" He barked loudly stalking over to his car and starting it. The rest of his clown followed his lead and soon they were all driving to the narrows. Once they found a suitable place they unpacked everything from the trucks, which took a while because they had practically everything just shoved in them. By the time they were finished unpacking and setting everything up it was 8 O'clock. The guy the Joker had sent out had returned with goodish news. Hailey was alive but had, had a panic attack. After hearing this news Joker had stormed up to his new room and slammed the door shut to begin planning.

First of all, Gotham had to pay for taking Hailey away, but he couldn't blow up any buildings that Hailey might possibly be in, which made it much more difficult. Banks were out, as were malls, or any store for that matter. The place he really wanted to blow up was the police station, but he could not do that. And if she had any more attacks she would be taken to the hospital, so those were out. He also knew Hailey would never forgive him if he were to blow up schools, so that left him with business buildings, individual homes, and abandoned warehouses. "This could work." He mused to himself before he started planning out his next move.

By the time morning came around the Joker had a general idea of what he was going to do. Every night he was away from Hailey at least one building was going to get blown up. And if anyone were to pay attention to the street names, the first letters would spell out Hailey, and the Joker had a good idea that Batman would figure that one out, even if no one else did. Finally the Joker allowed himself to fall asleep, after being up for over 24 hours.

Hailey welcomed the first glimpses of the sun and got out of bed, she felt awful. She had gotten less than three hours of sleep last night, and had just sat in her bed for the rest of the night. Looking over at her clock Hailey saw that it was only five in the morning. Hailey walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, she couldn't help but notice that they weren't nearly as nice as the clothes the Joker had bought for her. Sighing heavily Hailey walked to the shower and allowed the hot water to run over her body, loosening all of her tense muscles, and for a few minutes she could simply forget, she could forget everything. The water ran cold much to soon for Hailey's liking but she stepped out of the shower anyway. Quickly Hailey pulled on her clothes and started brushing her hair.

Glancing at the mirror Hailey noticed bags starting to form under her eyes. If things kept on going the way they were she had no doubt her bags would rival those of anyone. Picking up her make-up bag Hailey did her best to hide the offensive marks before leaving the bathroom. Once downstairs Hailey grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and some cereal from the pantry before sitting down and eating it plain. She didn't feel like doing anything at all. She was tired, but afraid to sleep, and she missed the feeling of Jay's body against hers when she fell asleep. Hailey allowed her mind to wander for a couple minutes before she realized she hadn't even touched her food, but she wasn't hungry in the slightest, so she just threw it all away and allowed her body to slump forward. Hailey wasn't sure how long she sat there, not thinking, not doing anything except breathing when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Not really caring what her parents thought Hailey didn't move from her position, she was surprisingly comfortable just slumped over the table with her now dry hair spilling everywhere around her.

"Hailey?" Hailey heard a voice she hadn't been expecting speak up.

"Oh, hey Jimmy, I didn't think it was you." Hailey replied sitting up and smiling. She had missed him, probably more than anyone besides his sister.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. "Mommy and daddy told me not to ask, but you're my big sis, I gotta ask."

Hailey felt her eyes brim with tears. He was just so cute, he was so young, but he still cared so much about his big sister. "I'm fine Jimmy, don't worry, just a bit tired, I didn't sleep very well." She explained gently. She smiled at him and opened up her arms, needing no further encouragement Jimmy leaped into her lap to give her a hug.

"I'm glad you're back, I missed you." Jimmy told her. "Oh, and so did Jamie." He added as an after thought. Hailey heard a laugh and was surprised to find out it came from her. Leave it to a little six year old to make her laugh.

"Well, we're the only ones up, so what do you want to do?" Hailey asked Jimmy, trying to seem upbeat. She didn't care if her parents knew how miserable she was, but there was no way she was going to ruin her siblings innocence.

"I just got some new play dough." Jimmy replied looking up Hailey with puppy dog eyes.

"That sounds like a great idea." Hailey said standing up.

"Yay! This way!" Jimmy exclaimed grabbing her hand and leading her to the playroom. After about half an hour Jim and Barbara came down stairs, shocked to see Hailey looking so, normal. They had expected her to be…well to be something other than this.

"Good morning Hailey." Jim said smiling at his son who had made himself a moustache out of play dough.

"Hi daddy." He replied happily. "We're playing with the play dough!" He said as if his father couldn't tell.

"Yes I see that." Gordon replied smiling. "Hailey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.

"I guess," Hailey replied getting up and walking into the kitchen.

"Hailey, you need to talk to someone about what happened," he started but was cut off by Hailey.

"Oh, was I not specific enough for you earlier?" Hailey snapped, now that she was out of earshot from Jimmy she didn't have to pretend to be fine.

"Hailey, I meant on a more personal level." Jim sighed rubbing his face; this was going to be interesting.

"I don't know if you didn't realize this yesterday, but if you're suggesting a shrink, that's not going to work." Hailey interrupted glaring at her father,

"What if the door was unlocked, and there was someone else in there with you, someone you trusted?" Jim asked, praying she would agree.

"Oh like Jay? Then yeah sure." Hailey replied sarcastically.

It took Gordon a while before he remembered who 'Jay' was. "No Hailey not the Joker." He said, trying to keep his voice calm, the last thing he wanted was for Hailey to storm out on him again. Even though there were cops posted around their house to make sure no one got in, and that Hailey didn't get out. "Like Bruce."

"Wayne?" Hailey replied surprised, whatever she had been expecting, that was not it. "Why Bruce Wayne?"

"You seemed to get along well at his party, and he looks like he could take a number of people down." Gordon explained. Hailey realized that she was not going to win this argument so she relented.

"Fine," She sighed, in all honestly she was too tired to argue. Gordon nodded happily and left to make some phone calls. After a couple hours Gordon came back over to Hailey, "It's all set, and it's even a girl psychologist." He told her. "Well, let's go your appointment is in thirty minutes." Hailey rolled her eyes and followed her dad to the car.

Hailey entered the room and sat down in a comfy looking chair. "I'll be back in an hour." Her dad replied before leaving. Hailey nodded and waited for the shrink and Bruce to walk in. After a couple of minutes it finally clicked in Hailey's mind that she was going to be in a room with a shrink. She started hyperventilating and she could feel sweat trickling down her face.

"Are you all right?" She heard a voice ask, turning around she saw that it was Bruce and sighed.

"Yeah," She whispered, trying to get her breathing under control again.

"Are you sure?" He asked, concern filling his voice. Hailey nodded again. Bruce pulled up a chair and sat next to Hailey. They sat in a comfortable silence before the shrink came in. Bruce grabbed Hailey's hand in comfort as she struggled to keep her breathing normal.

"Hello Miss Gordon, nice to meet you." The shrink said smiling and extending her hand. Hailey refused to shake it, she knew it was irrational, but she couldn't help but think that of she grabbed her hand she wouldn't be able to let go, and then-. Her thoughts were cut off when Bruce whispered to her.

"Just breathe. I'm right here." Hailey nodded and felt herself relax. Soon the questioning began, and Hailey was not being helpful, she didn't like giving away personal information. About halfway through the session they heard an explosion come from a few blocks away. Hailey raced out the door and looked out a window. All she could see was a huge puff of smoke, coming from Harlem. Hailey couldn't help but smile; she knew who had blown up the building, and for some reason that gave her comfort.

The rest of the week passed much the same way, but Hailey was getting weaker and weaker with each passing day. The nightmares didn't do away; in fact they continued to get worse and worse. They all started the same, her lying on that bed, and Bill coming in, but she wouldn't wake up at the same time, every night the nightmares held onto her longer and longer. Eventually she was so tired she couldn't help but fall asleep again, and then new nightmares would come. The first time she saw Will dying in front of her again, over and over. The next night after Will died Jay would come running out, Hailey would scream at him to get away, that he wasn't safe, but just like Will he wouldn't listen, and he too got shot and died in front of Hailey, then the cops came and took her away, kicking and screaming. The current nightmare Hailey was having was the worst. After the first two, Hailey couldn't help but fall asleep again, her body needed it, but Will's ghost came. He was covered in blood, from where he was shot, and he kept on telling Hailey that it was her fault that he was dead, that she should never have come to them, and it was all her fault. Then the scene shifted and Hailey was being dragged away by the mob, when she saw what she was being dragged away from she screamed, it was Jay, and he was being beaten by the cops, and just as he disappeared from Hailey's sight she heard a gun shot go off and saw Jay slump forward, dead. Hailey had woken up screaming and crying out Jay's name. Just as she was about to scream again he hand clapped itself around Hailey's mouth and she felt a gun press into her head.

"Not one word bitch." A cold voice spat, a voice Hailey had prayed she would never hear again. Hailey opened her eyes and was staring into the face of Gambol.

A/N 1: hey guys sorry for the wait on the last chapter I had major writers block and finals, so hopefully the fact that I got this one up so quickly will make you forgive me?

A/N 2: Gambol is another mob boss, and in my story he's the one who took over after Sal was killed.


	15. Scream

"What do you want?" Hailey's voice came out as a whisper; it was obvious that she was terrified. She was the weakest she had ever been, and now a man from her nightmares was here with a gun pressed to her head.

"Well, you see, we don't really like it when one of our guys get killed, especially when it's out boss. Understand?" Gambol growled at her, pushing the barrel of the gun harder against her head. Hailey just whimpered in response, silently praying this was just another nightmare. "So, as pay back you," he stopped to cock the gun, "Are coming with us." Hailey sighed in relief; at least they weren't going to kill her. She was roughly pulled from the bed and she shivered as her feet touched the cold wood of her floor. Gambol pulled a crumpled note from his pocket and placed it on her bed. "Now, if you're good, and come quietly, we'll leave your family alone, after all, your siblings are rather young." He threatened her. Hailey just nodded as tears streamed down her face. This could not be happening, what the hell happened to all of her security. As if reading her mind Gambol spoke up, "Everyone has his price sugar, it just so happens that your securities price was rather low." He laughed in her ear pulling her closer to him. "That's right," Gambol said, "Keep walking." Hailey did as she was told, trying not to cry out in pain as Gambol's grip on her got tighter and tighter. "Am I hurting you?" he asked her, obviously enjoying causing her pain. She had been a pain in the ass since they kidnapped her almost ten years ago. They should have just killed her when they had the chance. When they reached his truck he roughly shoved her in the back before climbing into the drivers seat and starting the car. Hailey realized that she was not alone in back seat. Looking around her eyes fell on a man who was basically looming over her.

"Hey luv, I want you to scream." He smirked as Hailey's eyes widened in fear when she finally realized who this man was, Bill. "Miss me?" He purred to her. Hailey could feel herself shaking as she tried to scoot as far away from this man as possible, but he wasn't having any of that. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her so that she was basically sitting in his lap. Hailey squeezed her eyes shut trying to fight back her tears, she hated that she was so weak. She squealed when she felt Bill lick her tears away before shoving his mouth over hers. Hailey attempted to shove him away, but not eating or sleeping for a week had taken its toll on Hailey's body, and all he attempts did were make Bill's grip on her even stronger.

"Bill wait until later." Gambol snapped, finally realizing what was going on. Bill reluctantly pulled his head away from Hailey's, but he kept her on his lap and let his hands wander wherever they wanted to. Hailey was painfully reminded that she only slept in a sports bra and shorts. Soon they pulled up to a gate in front of a mansion. Gambol punched some numbers into a pad before the gate opened up and he continued forward. Once the car was parked he got out and opened the back door of the car to pull Hailey forward. Hailey stumbled into him and he smirked. "Throwing yourself at me darlin'?" Hailey glared at him and tried to pull away form his tight grip, but to no avail. Hailey was dragged into the house and brought upstairs. Gambol shoved her into the farthest room and Hailey fell to the ground, being too weak to stop herself. "I'll be back." Gambol told her turning around and locking the door behind him. Hailey screamed and threw herself at the door trying desperately to get out.

Finally giving up that the door was not going to budge Hailey looked around the room. It was a lot nicer than the one she had been kept in as a teenager. It looked as if it were Gambol's room, it was very dark and had a king size bed in the middle. Hailey saw there was a window and that it wasn't that high up. Hailey grabbed the bottom of the window, intending to pull it open, but pulled her fingers away quickly. Under the window there was barbed wire, which had just sliced her fingers open. Hailey finally realized that she was completely trapped, and she had no idea what to expect. She slid down the wall and brought her knees close to her body, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Much too soon the door was opened again and Gambol walked in holding a video camera in one hand and a knife in the other. Two men followed him in the room, one of them was Bill, and the other one was a man Hailey didn't recognize. "I've noticed your freak like videos, so I thought I'd take a page out of his book." Gambol told her advancing towards her cowering frame. Gambol placed the camera down before grabbing Hailey by the wrists and shoving her onto the bed.

"What do you want from me?" Hailey asked again trying to get as far away from the men as possible. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing you haven't been through before." Gambol smirked. "Boys hold her down." He instructed as he turned on the camera. He turned the camera so that it was focused on him and you couldn't see Hailey at all. "Hello Joker," he began talking to the camera, "Now, we in the mob may not be brilliant, but we are smart enough to know that you won't be found unless you want to be, so we thought we could lull you out of hiding by showing you someone. I know how you love to see people in pain, so you should love this." He turned the camera on Hailey, who was struggling pointlessly against her captors. Gambol kept the camera on Hailey but continued speaking. "I'm sure you know what happened last time Miss Gordon was a guest of ours, but just incase the details are a bit hazy, we'll reenact it fort you, because we're just that nice." Gambol smirked as he picked up the knife. "The first thing we did was beat her up, so" He didn't need to say anymore before Bill and the other man started pounding down on Hailey. Every hit was magnified by her currently weakened state. Finally after Hailey thought she was going to pass out they stopped and stood back. "Then we carved the leaders name into her," Gambol explained handing the camera off to the guy Hailey didn't recognize. Even with one of her captors off of her Hailey still couldn't get away. Gambol leaned closer to her, lightly tracing the knife over her skin just below the sports bra. Before Hailey even knew what was happening he had pushed the knife down into her skin, causing blood to bubble out. He carved each letter slowly, magnetizing the pain Hailey felt. Finally he was finished and he stood up, allowing the camera to zoom in and capture his handiwork. "Now, before we had left her for a couple hours, but I don't really think we have the time, so I'll just continue." He explained once again bending over Hailey with the knife. Hailey fought to get free again, not wanting the knife to enter her again. All of her struggling did was cause Bill to get annoyed at drag a nail across Hailey's fresh cut, resulting in her screaming.

Gambol continued forward and carved out another word just above her belly button. Once again he stepped away so the camera could capture what he carved. Through all the blood you could barely make out the word tramp, deeply carved into Hailey's skin. Hailey was dry heaving by now, and would have thrown up had she had any food in her system. Hailey could hear Gambol continuing to talk, but all she could focus on was the pain. It seemed like an eternity before something happened again. The other man was wrapping Hailey's cuts up in gauze quickly, not seeming to care how well they were done. Once they were wrapped up the pain had subsided enough so Hailey could focus on what Gambol was saying again. "After she got a short break one of my men would come in, so I'll leave them to it." With that he put down the camera in a position so Hailey was still clearly visible on the screen, and walked out the door, the other man following him silently. Which left Hailey all alone with Bill.

Bill smirked as he advanced towards her, he knew she was too weak to do anything to him. He slowly crawled on top of her so that he was straddling her. He allowed himself to take in her form, she had filled out quite a bit since he had last been in this position, but she was obviously not in the best health. He leaned down and roughly pressed his lips against hers. "I've missed this." He groaned against her lips hungrily. Hailey tried to move her head away, but all that did was cause Bill to start kiss her neck while his hands roamed all over her body. After a few minutes Bill's lips made their way back to hers and he squeezed her thigh forcing her to gasp so he could slip his tongue into her mouth. This went on for a while before he grabbed a knife from the head of the bed and sliced through Hailey's bra, leaving a thin trail of blood right in between Hailey's breasts. Throwing the knife aside his lips attacked the newly revealed area forcefully, bringing a whimper out of Hailey. He grabbed Hailey's wrists and brought her hands down lower, forcing them into his pants and rubbing against her.

Hailey knew she didn't have a choice but to do what he wanted so she kept her hands where they were, hating herself for not fighting, but her will was gone. "Take them off." Bill growled in her ear. Hailey knew what he was talking about and started undoing his belt with trembling fingers. As she was doing this Bill was tugging her shorts and panties down in one swift movement. Getting impatient with Hailey he kicked off his own jeans before quickly thrusting against her. Bill put his hands around Hailey's neck and squeezed slightly. "Scream." He instructed biting her earlobe. Hailey shook her head, tears cascading down her face. She felt Bills hands reach under the gauze and shove his fingers into her cuts. An agonizing scream bubbled inside of Hailey and forced itself out of her throat ripping the sensitive tissue there. "That was the hard way," Bill told her, continuing to thrust. "Now do it the easier way." Hailey complied and screamed his name while crying. It only took a few more minutes for Bill to reach his climate and Hailey felt him spill into her. He slowly withdrew, making sure to make it as painful as possible for Hailey before standing up and pulling on his clothes and walking out the door. Hailey turned to face the camera trying to control her breathing.

"Please save me Jay," she chocked out before passing out.

Gordon walked into Hailey's room at eight in the morning surprised she wasn't up yet. When he saw her bed empty he rushed over and saw a note crumpled up.

_The Joker's not the only criminal in Gotham, and she's probably safer with him. You should hire better security, they're cheap. I'm sure we'll all have a great time with your daughter, after all she was great last time and she was still just a kid. She's gotten hotter as a woman._

_~Gambol_

Gordon reread the note a dozen times before he stormed down the stairs and out the door. When he got outside he noticed the cop cars that were supposed to be there were gone and he cursed. He had been so focused on keeping the Joker away from Hailey that he forgot about the mob. He had also thought Hailey was safe from them now that Maroni was dead, but supposedly that was not the case. Racing back inside he called the station to call it in, once again Hailey had been kidnapped. Quickly explaining what was going in to Barbara he headed out the door and into the car. It seemed as of once again he was going to be spending most of his time at the station. Once he arrived at the station he raced up to the roof and pulled out the bat signal, he had, had another one made shortly after Hailey was taken the first time. He knew Batman only came out at night, but it was cloudy outside so the signal would show up, and maybe Batman would come anyway.

In about fifteen minutes just as Gordon was about to give it up as a lost cause he showed up, Gordon could have cried. "The mob has her again." He explained. "I thought she was safe."

"So did I." Batman replied before jumping off the roof and disappearing in the clouds. Gordon only hoped that they could find Hailey in time. He would even settle for the Joker finding her, he couldn't help but think that maybe Hailey was safer with the Joker, and he hated him for it.

A/N1: So this is a little graphic, but I think it needed to be to have the right affect. So what do you guys think is going to happen?

A/N2: So I'm proud of myself 3 chapters in 24 hours. Just to let all of you know the soonest I will post will be in a week so Tori, don't even ask.

A/N3: and again what story should I post next? Check the list on my profie and let me know


	16. A Taste of Your Own Medicine

Hailey woke up feeling sore everywhere, it felt like she had been run over by a truck. Slowly opening her eyes she took in her surroundings, panic overtook her as she was reminded where she was. Groaning Hailey looked down at herself, she was covered in bruises, and her bandages were covered in blood. Not to mention the fact that she was completely naked, Hailey pulled the sheet around herself, trying to find comfort in anything she could. Hailey wasn't sure how long she lied there. But it must have been hours before she heard the rattling on the door, scrambling to the edge of the bed Hailey tried to get as far away from whoever was coming through the door as possible. When the door finally opened it revealed someone she thought she would never see again. "Jay," She breathed out in a sigh of relief, he had found her, she was safe. He was completely covered in blood, he must have killed a lot of people, Hailey figured. As quickly as she could she raced from the bed and into her arms, she inhaled his scent, never happier to see anyone in her life. Feeling something wet coming from her abdomen she looked down and saw her cuts had opened up again, and the bandages were being peeled off, what the hell?

Hailey woke up quickly snapping her eyes open. She looked and saw a mob member was taking off her bandages and redressing them. Hailey almost cried, it had all been a dream, she was still with the mob, and Jay hadn't come, she was still in her nightmare. Not wanting to be found out of being awake, Hailey closed her eyes again and feigned sleep. As soon as the guy had left she opened her eyes again, hoping that when she did she would be back in Jay's embrace. She wasn't. She was still in a room with the mob, she was still covered in bruises and cuts, and she was still definitely naked. Taking the sheet she wrapped it around herself, as a makeshift dress. Standing up she nearly fell over, but she managed to keep her footing, looking around she saw a door she had missed earlier. Making her way over to it she opened it to find a bathroom, a very nice bathroom for that matter. Honestly not caring if anyone walked in Hailey started the shower and waited for the water to heat up. She wasn't sure when the last time it was she had showered, probably the last time she had been at the hideout. Hailey hadn't left the house since then, so she saw no reason to look good. But now she defiantly needed a shower, if anything to try to erase from her body what had happened last night.

After about fifteen minutes Hailey had scrubbed her skin so hard it had bled in some places, and she didn't even feel any cleaner than before. Stepping out of the shower she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself before leaving the room. When she walked into the room she nearly screamed in surprise, Gambol was standing right there, next to the bed. He didn't say anything, he just smirked and pushed a button on a remote and a TV appeared and turned on. "Looks like the freak didn't like the video." Was all he said before leaving Hailey in the room to watch the news. Hailey heard the lock click as he left so she turned her attention to the TV.

The Joker could not believe it! How could those idiots let the mob get her again! It really was true that she was safest with him, and even though he liked having her stay with him that should not really be the case. His gaze fell on the map in front of him, it was a map of Gotham with a pin on all of the streets he had blown a building up on. So far he had Harlem, Adams, Ivy, Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Yew. That by far had to be the most fucked up street name he had ever heard. He was interrupted from his thoughts by one of his men coming in with a tape in his hands. The guy looked a little worse for wear if the Joker were being honest. "What?"

"I was out looking for M and then I was knocked out, when I woke up I had this video in my hand with this note attached to it." The guy said handing the video and note to the Joker then leaving, he had an idea it was from the mob, and didn't want to be around for his reaction.

The Joker looked at the note and already felt his blood boil. _Have a taste of your own medicine, your bitch is quite fun._ It wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be, the Joker knew exactly who it was from. Storming over to his TV he shoved the tape in and pressed play, almost immediately he wished he hadn't. He growled as he heard the smugness in Gambol's voice as he talked about using Hailey to lure him out, and the worst part was he was right, he would go there to get Hailey. It wasn't even a minute in and the Joker was ready to kill someone, they were beating her up, they were beating up _his_ Hailey. The Joker hated himself for not being there to protect her, he should have killed all of the bastards when he had the chance! He refocused his attention to the TV and felt the monster in him get even bigger when he saw what they were doing. They were _carving_ things into her and her screaming was nearly breaking his heart. She was obviously trying to hold back, but he knew from experience that when someone was carving into your skin, it was near impossible not to scream out. Joker saw the words tramp and Gambol seeping out blood from her skin. If he had thought that was bad, he was absolutely furious about what happened next. The Joker watched in horror as that…that things crawled over Hailey and brought his lips to hers while his hands roamed everywhere. That was not allowed! He didn't own her, she was his; she was the Joker's. The Joker tried to look away, but something drew him back, maybe it was so he would make sure to make this guys death as painful as possible, but what ever it was those images of Hailey screaming and crying as that man, Bill, thrust into her would forever be burned into his mind. Once the man had left Hailey there Joker thought he couldn't get any more upset, but when he saw Hailey turn towards the camera and say those four words _Please save me Jay_ Joker swore he felt his heart break, but he would not let himself cry. Instead he turned that hurt into hatred and anger. Storming out of his room he called all his guys together.

"Find Hailey! If you find any mob members bring them to me right away, I will make them tell me where she is, I'll hurt them so much I could make them sing." With that he stormed away and his guys did just as he said, the split the city up into grids, hopefully that way they could find Hailey. The whole gang searched that entire day, and there were no signs of Hailey, or the mob for that matter. They must have known what would happen to them had they been caught by the Joker. That night the Joker went on a rampage, blowing up buildings left and right. He was pissed and needed to blow off steam, however what normally calmed him down, wreaking havoc, did nothing to calm him down. His mood did not approve when he found another video waiting for him in his car. As soon as he got back to the hideout he put the tape in and watched it.

_Hailey was asleep on a bed, in nothing but a towel, she looked extremely pale. Her natural black hair was coming back in at her roots, contrasting with her red dyed hair. A knife appeared in front of the camera and it moved closer and closer to Hailey. _The Joker heard himself cry out, as if Hailey could hear him. _Soon the knife was pressed against Hailey's skin, she woke up just as move force was applied and the knife sunk its way into her skin. Hailey cried out in pain and thrashed around trying to get the knife away from her, but to no avail. Hailey was painfully reminded of her last time with the mob, and the fact that struggling just made it worse. Hailey stopped struggling and tried to choke back her sobs, but some made their way through her lips, and her agony was clear in their tortured sound. The knife carved more into Hailey's skin without stop. Hailey was dry heaving again and was passing in and out of consciousness. When the camera finally focused on Hailey's wounds the words Pathetic, a pair of dice, and a couple of 'ha ha's' were carved into her skin. Once again they were bandaged, and once again a man was left alone with Hailey. This time it wasn't Bill, it was a random person neither Hailey nor the Joker recognized. _

_ Hailey closed her eyes, trying not to think what was going to happen again. She felt so exposed in only a towel, but she knew she would soon be wishing to have the towel back again. The man smirked and moved toward Hailey. He was a larger man, probably around 6'3 and almost complete muscle. Hailey knew right away that this was going to be worse than before. Before she knew what was happening the man was straddling her and painfully grinding his hips against hers. Hailey could feel his arousal pushing against her, and it terrified her to know that only a towel was keeping him away from her completely, and soon that towel was going to be gone. She felt the man's lips moving against her neck and slowly going down towards her collarbone. His hands were roaming all over her body and she felt as he tugged the towel down to expose her breasts. His mouth bit down on them roughly and Hailey heard herself gasp in pain, this only seemed to fuel the man on more and he became even rougher. Soon his lips had captured her own once again and he had forced her mouth open and was now exploring every part of her mouth. Hailey tried feebly to get away, but she was much too weak, and he was too strong for her to be able to do anything. Hailey gasped when she felt his fingers enter her quickly. She squirmed around and tried to get him to stop, but all that did was cause him to wiggle them faster and chuckle into her mouth. Hailey cried harder and harder and hated herself for feeling herself coming close to her climax. She couldn't believe she was going to cum during rape! Just as she was about to release he pulled his fingers out and Hailey sighed in relief. Before she got to comfortable he ripped the towel completely off of her and quickly thrust inside of her, causing Hailey to scream in pain. "C'mon baby," he whispered huskily in her ear. Hailey felt herself shudder at the sound of his voice she could tell that he was evil. Hailey choked back her sobs as he thrusted harder and harder into her while his hands roamed her body and his lips traveled from her mouth down to her neck and back. "Uugh," he moaned after a particularly harsh thrust. "say my name," he commanded her. "C'mon say it, moan to me." He bit down on her neck and started sucking on her sweet spot. Hailey couldn't hold back the moan that escaped her lips, and she hated herself for it. "Now scream my name,"_

_ "I…I don't," Hailey started to say before she was cut off by a moan. "Your name," She finished shakily. She didn't want to have to scream his name, but she didn't want to go through the hard way again either. _

_ "Mark," He growled in her ear, obviously near his climax. His hand reached down and started stroking her clit softly while whispering her name._

_ "Mark," Hailey breathed out, hoping he wouldn't make her scream. Her throat hurt, and she felt like she lost all control when they made her scream._

_ "I said scream bitch!" He bit down on her breast hard and Hailey screamed out in pain. "Now my fucking name," He moaned the last part, Hailey was clenching around him which was bringing him closer and closer to his climax._

_ "MARK! Oh God!" Hailey screamed and cried at the same time. She felt his seed spill into her, which caused her to cum then as well. _

_ "Hailey! God bitch you're so good!" Mark cried out. Even after their climaxes he continued to thrust into her aggressively, just for the hell of it. He knew it would hurt her, and he got off on other people's pain. Finally, after what seemed an eternity to Hailey he pulled out of her, but it seemed as if he wasn't done yet. He brought his lips crashing against hers and his hands massaged her breasts. Before Hailey knew what was happening he had pushed her down the bed and was slowly lowering her head downward. Hailey started fighting for all she was worth, there was no way she would go down on this guy! It was not happening. _

The Joker watched in rage as this beast forced Hailey lower and lower, he couldn't watch this. He had so much anger inside of him; he needed to break something. Grabbing the first thing he found, which happened to be a paper weight the Joker hurled it at the wall. He then reached for anything he could and chucked it around the room. Soon he was out of smaller objects so grabbed the lamp and smashed it against the wall. Finally all spent his eyes fell back to the video.

_Hailey cried and tried to vomit, but she had nothing to throw up. Mark was pulling on his pants, smiling smugly. _

Oh how the Joker would love t carve that smile off of his face. And he would too. If it was the last thing her would ever do, the Joker was going to kill that man; hell he was going to kill everyone in the mob! And he would show no mercy; he would kill them as painfully as humanly possible.And he would too, that was a promise.

A/N1: So what do you think? Less than a week and a new chapter! Pretty impresiive huh? Welll you all have tori to thank for this chapter being updated so quickly, she never gives me a moments when she's not asking about this story

A/N2: So what do you think will happen? Who will save Hailey? Or will anyone save Hailey? Don't worry I have it all planned out…for the most part.

A/N3: Soon I'll be starting a new story Black and White it's about Sirius Black, so if you're a Harry Potter fan Yay!


	17. Pirates and Pissing Drunk

Gordon paced back and forth in the police station, as had been his habit for the past week, ever since Hailey was taken by the mob. He couldn't help but feel as if it were his fault. He was the reason she got taken by the mob in the first place, and then the Joker went after her because of him. Then they got into a fight and she ran away and went with the Joker, but then he took her away from him, and now the mob had her again. Gordon let out a groan; this was not helping! And to top it all off the Joker was going crazy! If Gordon had thought it was bad when Hailey was at home, it was nothing compared to how it was now that Hailey was back with the mob! 'If he finds her, I swear to God I won't try to kill him ever again.' Gordon told himself. He was going to say that he would stop hunting him, but he knew he couldn't do that. Just then Marty walked into the station, interrupting Gordon's thoughts.

"Any news?" Gordon asked hopefully. It was the same thing he asked every time someone would walk into the station, or call. But the answer was always the same.

"No, Sorry Jim." Marty replied sadly, shaking his head. Gordon sighed; he should have expected that, briefly he wondered if they were ever going to get Hailey back. Marty must have known what Jim was thinking because he spoke up, "We'll find her Jim, there's only a number of places those son's of bitches can hide her."

"I hope you're right Marty, I hope you're right."

"You should go on home Jim, you're exhausted." Marty told him concern filling his voice. Gordon really looked worse for wear. HE had huge bags under his eyes, and it was obvious he wasn't eating enough.

"There's no reason, Barbara and the kids are staying with her parents. If I go home I'll just keep on wondering, and when I tell myself I'm going to go and confront the mob no one will be there to stop me." Gordon explained. It was true, there were a couple of times when officers had to physically restrain Jim from just running out by himself.

"Alright, but if you get tired just go into the room and sleep, God knows you need it." Marty relented. Gordon just nodded and picked up his pacing again. After another hour or so Gordon realized that he did need sleep so took up Marty's advice and went into the other room, which had a bed in it and lied down. As soon as his head had touched the pillow he was out cold. He really had been tired.

The Joker felt like he was going crazy. Everyday those monsters would send him a video of Hailey, and every time it got worse and Hailey looked weaker and weaker, and there was nothing he could do about it. The mob wouldn't tell him where they were, if they had nothing would have been able to stop Joker from going to try and save Hailey. He would even give himself up if he knew that meant she was safe. 'I'm turning soft' he grumbled to himself. It was partly true; he would do anything for Hailey, but only for Hailey. If a random girl were in the same situation he would find it slightly comical, not the rape part, but the beatings. But the fact was that it wasn't just a random girl, it was his Hailey. He had gone out every single night for a week looking for Hailey, and every night he came back no closer to finding Hailey than the night before. He had continued to blow up buildings, spelling her name over and over again, H-A-I-L-E-Y-G-O-R-D-O-N, but nothing happened, he wasn't even sure if the cops were really paying attention to him anymore, they were so focused on Hailey, which was fine with the Joker, but he was missing the attention. The Joker was interrupted from his thoughts when one of his goons walked in. He looked up hopefully, but the clown just shook his head, knowing exactly what Joker was wondering and produced another tape.

The Joker deflated, they hadn't found Hailey, and there was another tape. He would have stopped watching them by know except he hoped that he would be able to figure out where she was. It was a pitiful hope, but the Joker hung to it like a lifeline. Dreading what he was about to witness the Joker put the tape in and flopped onto his bed. The tape went through the usual routine of Hailey getting craved into and then raped, but this time there was a message at the end. Joker sat up, suddenly alert, maybe they would tell him where she was.

_"The mob is having a little get together tonight with some of our associates. Hailey will be guarded, so if you try anything with us while we're out she will die. Just a friendly warning." Gambol smirked and then turned off the camera. _

Hailey hugged herself closely, pulling her shirt tighter around her. The mob had given he a long tattered grey shirt. The neck was cut so that it continually fell off of her shoulders, but Hailey would just pull it back up again, at least it was something. Hailey stared at the door intently. She knew that there were two guards outside of it, making sure she didn't escape. She also knew that they weren't very happy about being left behind. From what she had overheard the mob was having some sort of special meeting tonight, and all the important people were going to be there. In her now slightly crazy mind Hailey couldn't help but think about Pirates of the Caribbean. And how there were two guards left to guard the ship and weren't at the promotion thing. Hailey smiled, remembering the last time she had watched that movie.

_Hailey sat on the couch in the TV room of the hideout. Will was to her left and Doc to her right. The rest of the guys were sitting in random chairs they had pulled into the room or the other couch. "So what movie are we going to watch?" She asked. She didn't really care what they picked, it was nice to just relax with the guys; something she had never really been able to do. But she knew that they would never hurt her, or if they tried they would be dead in a moment. _

_ "I'm not really in the mood for horror." Phil spoke up._

_ "And I don't really want any cartoons." Ben added; he was honestly going to smash the TV if he saw one more cartoon come out of that thing._

_ "How about something where the 'bad guys' win?" Matt suggested smiling. _

_ "Oooo! Pirates of the Caribbean!" Hailey had exclaimed happily. She loved that movie. _

_ "Sounds good to me." Everyone had replied. Will got up to put the movie in the player. As he got up out of his seat Jay walked in and took it. When Will turned back to see his seat gone he rolled his eyes and found a seat elsewhere. Had it been anyone but the Joker he would have fought him…but it was the Joker. You didn't fight him; you would end up dead. Hailey smirked up at Jay. _

_ "That was mean." She whispered playfully leaning into him. _

_ "He was next to my girl." Was all he had said in reply. Hailey had tried to say something back but he had shushed her, motioning that the movie was beginning. For the remainder of the night Hailey had snuggled up to the Joker, his arm was wrapped around her tightly, it felt safe, and Hailey missed that feeling._

Hailey felt a tear fall down her cheek thinking about that night. Everything had been so perfect. She was brought out of her thoughts by the guards talking loudly. "I'm so tired of being that bitches baby sitter!" One of them yelled. "And now we have to fucking stay here while everyone else goes off to that goddamn party, where all they're gonna do is get pissing drunk."

"Well why should they have all the fun?" The other guards answered. Hailey's blood froze.

'Please have them not do what I think they're going to do.' She thought to herself desperately.

"Yeah! We should be able to get drunk as well!" Hailey breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What about the bitch?" The guy said. "What if she gets out and we're drunk? We'll be killed."

"Are you kidding? Have you seen her lately, she can barely stand, let alone run away, we're fine." The first guard replied. "C'mon, let's go get the booze." Hailey heard their footsteps fade down the hall. Her mind started spinning, this was the best chance she was going to get; she needed to come up with a plan. Hailey looked around the room and her gaze fell onto the window. She knew it was useless to try to open it, she would just cut her fingers again.

"But if I break the window," Hailey told herself smiling. "But they would hear it." She realized. "But it's my only plan." Hailey fell onto the bed in exasperation. She was staring at the sheet and got an idea. Hailey threw the blankets, sheets, and all off of the bed and began twisting them into a rope. She then tied them together tightly. This took a lot longer than it normally would do to the fact that she hadn't eaten anything in about two weeks and had little to no sleep. Not to mention all of the beatings she had gotten. When she had finished tying the last knot she fell to the floor exhausted. She pressed her sweaty brow to the cool wood floor and allowed herself to relax for a few moments. Hailey heard the guards outside of her door laughing loudly; they were absolutely plastered.

"And then, man, then she was like, I don't date no white boys!" The men burst out laughing and Hailey managed to roll her eyes. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she had a funny feeling that it wasn't all that funny.

"Whoa man, the world is spinning." One of the guys laughed. Hailey heard a thump as the man hit the floor.

"Haha, man you so drunk so passed out!" The other man said before taking another swig of his beer. It only took him another minute to fall fast asleep next to his partner. Hailey peeked under the door to make sure they were actually passed out; she didn't want them coming in while she was climbing out of the window.

"Hey!" Hailey yelled suddenly. There was no response, satisfied that the men were completely inebriated she began to tie one end of the 'rope' to the bedpost. Hailey made sure that it was tied securely, the last thing she wanted was to plummet to her death. Well it wouldn't kill her but she doubted she would be able to move, and she didn't want to be found by the mob like that. Once that was done Hailey looked around the room for something to break the window with. Hailey saw a lamp that was plugged into the wall and quickly yanked it out of the socket. With all of the strength she had left she flung the lamp at the window. Hailey heard the sweet sound of shattering glass and opened her eyes, she hadn't even realized she had shut them. Hailey could have cried in relief as she saw a broken window in front of her. Hailey threw the end of her rope out the window and boosted herself onto the ledge of the window, ignoring the shards of glass that were currently cutting into her skin.

Hailey looked down and immediately wished she hadn't. She grabbed the side of the window tighter for support, feeling the bite of glass into her palm. Hailey closed her and took a few calming breaths, but she knew she had to hurry, it was late. She wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but she didn't want the rest of the mob coming back, or her guards waking up and stopping her from escaping. She had no idea what they would do to her if she were caught, but she knew it wouldn't be good. "C'mon girl," she scolded herself. 'You can do this, it's just like climbing a tree." She tried to tell herself. "A really tall tree. Yeah." She decided to stop talking, she was just freaking herself out.

Grasping the rope tightly Hailey began to make her decent. She made sure to go extremely slowly, she didn't want to fall. By the time she was halfway down her arms were screaming in agony. She was not in shape for this, but it's not like she had a choice, so she continued down her makeshift rope. When Hailey was about ¾ the way down she heard a dreaded noise, a slight ripping sound. Hailey looked up and saw that the sheet hanging out the window was beginning to rip, a shard of glass had cut it, and it was getting bigger and bigger. Hailey started to go down the rope faster, she was not going to get this far only to have her rope rip. No! She _was_ going to make it down to safety. When Hailey was about a foot from the ground the rope finally gave out and Hailey fell on her ass. It hurt, but it could have been a lot worse, she could have been dead. Hailey didn't even wait for the pain to go away before she got herself up and started running away from the house, she wasn't really sure where she was, but she knew she needed to get out, and go-. Hailey paused, she really didn't know where to go, she couldn't go home, that wasn't safe, but she didn't know any other place to go. The guys wouldn't be at the old hideout and she had no idea where they would be. Hailey decided that she would head to the Narrows and hope to run into one of the clowns. It was a long shot, but so far her luck was turning out pretty well today.

Hailey cursed as she reached the gate, she had forgotten about that. Looking at it she saw a button on the wall, really hoping it wasn't some kind of alarm Hailey pushed it. Hailey could have died happily right then, because the gate opened and she silently slipped out and into the night. Hailey realized that she was at the edge of Gotham. She decided to keep on running forward and hopefully end up somewhere familiar. So she began running, with every step getting closer and closer to safety.

Gambol smirked as his car pulled up to the mansion. The meeting had gone very well. This was the meeting to make it official that he was the top guy on the food chain in the mob, and he had won by a landslide. After the meeting Gambol had told some of his men to kill every guy who had voted against him, he couldn't have any competition. Not with the Joker around, he had enough to look out for with that freak. However when Gambol walked upstairs and saw his two guards passed out his mood drastically changed. He quickly opened the door, shoving the men away with his foot. HE cursed loudly at what he saw. The window was broken and the remnants of a sheet-rope were tied to the bed. The bitch was gone. Without even thinking about it Gambol turned around and shot the two guards, it was all their fault. "I'm going to need more men." Gambol told himself before heading downstairs to plan.

A/N1: So what do you guys think? Hm exactly a week since the last post…I think. Well yay for a happyish chapter! I bet you all totally thought Jay would save her or someone right? Well, I thought about that, but there was just more I could do with this

A/N2: as soon as I have more of it written I will start to write my story Black and White about Sirius Black so yay Harry Potter fans!

A/N3: thank you peaches, Airasey19, kellemarine, StarSunShine, and tori for reviewing. And special thanks to tori and Sabrina for continually bugging me until I posted again! Feel free to review/comment!


	18. He's A Good Guy

Hailey looked around trying to figure out where she was. There was no way she was going to get caught because she was lost, not when she was this close. She continued to stumble down the darkened streets, looking for anything that would giver an idea of where she was. Hailey had been wandering around for the better part of an hour when she finally made it to the Narrows. Any relief she had felt vanished as she remembered there were criminals other than the Joker and the mob. Hailey quickened her pace, as much as she could in her current position, and tried to find any signs of Jay. After about half an hour Hailey was about to give up. She was exhausted and the adrenaline was starting to ware off to be replaced by fear. Finally Hailey heard voices, and not really thinking she ran towards them. Once she was within a few feet of them she slowed down, realizing that she had no idea who these guys were.

One of them turned towards her and fear gripped her heart. Turning around she fled, pushing herself to her limits. She made a quick turn unto an alley, only to find it was a dead end. Hailey turned around panicked, the man was getting closer to her with every moment, and she didn't know what to do. She could try to fight and run, but she doubted she would cause much damage; she could barely stand up. Hailey backed up as the figure moved forward; she still couldn't see his face due to the darkness. Hailey cursed under her breath as she felt her back hit the brick wall; she was trapped.

The Joker paced around his room, he hadn't gone out tonight. He knew that if he ran into anyone from the mob he wouldn't be able to stop himself from killing them; not that he would have a problem with that. But Gambol had made it very clear that if something were to happen to one of his guys tonight, they would kill Hailey. And he would never have been able to live with that guilt. He had sent the guys out to look for her, and he had a feeling that even if he hadn't they would have gone out anyway. Even though they were a bunch of criminals, they all cared about Hailey, and things just weren't the same without her.

He looked around his room and his eyes fell on a box full to the brim. It was Hailey's stuff taken from the hideout. He hadn't touched them yet, he just couldn't. His musings were interrupted when Phil ran into his room panting. "Boss come quick!" He gasped out. Joker didn't need to be told twice he was out of bed and out the door in no time.

Hailey started hyperventilating. She had just escaped from the mob, couldn't she have one day of peace? The man got closer and closer, finally Hailey could see his face. He almost fainted. "Hailey," the voice spoke softly moving forward. Hailey looked up into the face of Phil. Hailey slid down the wall in relief and Phil moved closer. Hailey couldn't help the scream that came out. She knew that Phil wouldn't hurt her. _Or will he?_ Her mind asked her. _No, no he won't he's a good guy!_ She argued back. 'God I'm so messed up' she told herself. Phil had stopped moving forward after Hailey had screamed; he didn't really know what to do. "Hailey, I'm not going to hurt you." He told her softly.

"I know," Hailey said. "Well, at least I think I know." She added softly. Phil tried to move forward again but Hailey scampered back subconsciously. Phil realized that this was going nowhere so moved faster, trying to get close enough so he could just scoop her up and carry her to the hideout. All of this caused was for Hailey to scream and start crying. "No please don't hurt me!" She begged him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't fight anymore, just please stop!" Phil looked at her confused, not knowing what was going on, he hadn't even touched her. Hailey's arms flailed around like she was trying to fight off an invisible enemy.

Hailey's eyes widened on fear as Phil morphed into Gambol. 'Miss me?' he asked her smirking. 'You didn't really think I would let you get away that easily did you?' he mocked her. 'Have you forgotten what your scars say? Perhaps I should give you some more.' He mused smiling. 'Or, perhaps we could do something else, something more,' he paused for a moment to look at her. He leaned in so his mouth was right next to her ear, 'intimate.' He finished huskily. Hailey shook her head crying.

"No, no, no, please no." She begged holding herself closely.

Phil looked around confused, she was seeing things, and he didn't know what to do to make her see _him_ and not whoever she was currently seeing. Luckily just then Doc came running up, having heard the screaming. He stopped abruptly when he saw Hailey.

"What the hell did you do?" He roared at Phil.

"I didn't do anything!" he replied. "One minute I'm telling her I won't hurt her and she says she knows and the next she's screaming for someone to please stop." Phil replied frantically. "She can't see us," He added. "She's in like a flashback or something."

"She won't let you get closer?" Doc asked calming down a little.

"No, she just screams louder when you try." Phil replied shaking his head. "I don't know what to do." He admitted.

"Okay, I'll stay here and make sure nothing happened to her and go and get the boss. And quickly!' Doc told him. Phil wasted no time in leaving. Maybe Joker would know what to do.

"Jay, Jay no! Don't come any closer! They'll kill you!" Hailey screamed out, tears were cascading down her face and dripping onto the pavement. "No!" Hailey yelled out anguish filling her voice. "No! No Jay wake up! Wake up! Don't leave me! You can't leave me now! Not like this." She said leaning over as if she were talking to someone lying on the ground. She paused as if she were listening to someone talk. "No, no it's not your time yet." She replied. "We were supposed to be together again. And we would live together and grow old together. You're not supposed to go now, we're not old yet!" Hailey sobbed. "Please don't go like Will."

Doc watched the scene before him, not sure what to make of it. He honestly couldn't tell if Hailey had gone crazy, or if she was just having a panic attack. He vehemently hoped it was the latter. 'Hurry up boss.' He mumbled to himself. Looking over at Hailey he saw that she was pushed up against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible. She looked so small and fragile, two words he would have never thought to describe Hailey before, and he hated the mob for reducing her to this. He just hoped that after this was all over she would be back to her old self, or at least like her old self. Finally he heard footsteps coming. He turned around and was surprised to not see the Joker, but a member of the mob. Doc stood up and placed himself between the man and Hailey. Unfortunately he didn't have many weapons on him. Just a gun that wasn't fully loaded, and a pocketknife.

The mobster made his way towards Doc. Doc squared his shoulders, he was ready to die for Hailey. As it turned out that wasn't necessary, before the man was in striking distance he fell down, with a knife embedded in his back. Doc let out a sigh of relief, it was Joker and Phil.

"Where is she?' Joker growled out moving forward. Doc pointed to where Hailey was curled up into a ball. When Joker saw her his expression immediately changed to concern. "Hailey?" he asked uncertainly.

"Jay?" She asked quietly, her voice was hoarse from screaming, but it was the most beautiful sound in the world to the Joker.

"I'm here princess." He replied slowly moving forward, not wanting to scare her.

"But…but you're dead." she said quietly. "I saw you die, right here." She said pointing to a place on the pavement.

"I'm not dead Hailey," Joker replied. "None of that happened, you were just scared." He continued. "But I'm right, uh, here, right next to you. See?" he held out his hand, Hailey hadn't even noticed him getting that close. Tentatively she reached out her hand to come in contact with Jay's. When they touched Hailey smiled and fell into his arms. "Sh, sh babe, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." He told her soothingly. Hailey nodded her head against the crook of his neck.

"Promise?" Hailey asked quietly.

"Promise, I'm a man of my word." He responded smiling.

"I missed you." She choked out.

"I missed you too," Jay replied. "How about we, uh, get you out of here and to someplace more comfortable? Hm?" He asked gently, not wanting to scare her.

"Okay," She replied softly, it almost broke his heart to hear her so broken. Hailey tried to stand up but stumbled forward. Jay caught her and was shocked at how light she was. He knew it was bad, but she hadn't looked so weak in the videos. Hailey tried to walk again, but would have fallen had Jay not been there.

"How about I carry you?" he offered. Hailey nodded and allowed herself to be picked up by Jay. For the first time he looked at what she was wearing and his while body shook with rage. It was little more than a rag! And he was pretty sure she had nothing in under it.

Sensing that Jay was mad about something Hailey spoke up, "Are you okay Jay?' She asked softly, she knew he didn't like to be weak.

"Am I alright?" Jay chuckled humorlessly. "Hailey, have you, uh, looked at yourself? And you're asking if _I'm_ alright?"

"I just wanted to make sure." Hailey replied quietly.

"I'm fine luv, just, uh, planning some things." He replied. He wasn't really lying, he was planning on how to kill each and every member of the mob. No one touches his girl and gets away with it. No one! They made it back to the hideout with no problems, Hailey clung to Jay like he was her lifeline. All of the guys got out of Joker's way as he carried in Hailey. She had fallen unconscious by this point, and everyone was worried about her.

"Make some soup for her." The Joker snapped at one of his men as he brought Hailey up the stairs. She looked like she hadn't eaten in weeks, but she had only been with the mob for one. "Doc!" he yelled down the stairs. A few moments later Doc was in the room with them waiting for orders. "Help her." Joker said softly. Doc nodded and went into the bathroom to get some cloths and warm water.

"Boss, can you grab the first aid kit?" Doc asked as he began to wipe away the blood from around Hailey's face. Joker nodded and headed out of the room to go and fetch it. When he returned to the room the cloth was stained red with blood, and the water in the bucket was a dark pink, borderline red as well.

"I'll get more water and cloths." He told Doc as he handed him the first aid kit. Doc nodded in acknowledgement but didn't look up from Hailey. After he was finished cleaning off Hailey's revealed parts he moved the 'shirt' up to get access to her torso. Doc gasped at what he saw. There were bandages everywhere, and where there weren't bandages there were cuts, bruises, and blood.

"Boss is not going to like this." He mumbled to himself.

"I won't like what?" the Joker asked walking into the room.

"Um, Hailey, she uh, well you don't wanna see it." Doc told him. He didn't need the Joker going all crazy. Joker didn't listen to him and pushed past him to Hailey. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her.

"Those bastards." He muttered. "Those fucking bastards! I'll kill them! I'll kill all of them!" he yelled. Doc just stood there, this is exactly what he had wanted to avoid. "I'm going to kill them! Right now!" He raved heading towards the door, but a small noise stopped him.

"Jay," Hailey breathed. Joker immediately returned to her side as her eyes flickered open. "Don't leave me, you promised you wouldn't leave me." She whispered.

"Okay princess, I'm here, I'm right here." He took hold of Hailey's hand as proof. Doc cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Um, I'm going to need to keep on cleaning her up." He told them. Hailey nodded her head but squeezed her eyes tight. Doc moved forward and placed the cloth on Hailey's stomach. Hailey couldn't help but thrash around trying to get away. Doc pulled away quickly and looked at his boss, not knowing what to do.

"I'm sorry." Hailey whispered burying her face in the pillow. "I hate being so weak!" She screamed into the pillow. "I told myself, I told myself I wouldn't let them break me." She whispered to herself. "But they did." Silent tears started rolling down her cheeks. Jay moved closer to her and gripped her hand more firmly.

"No they didn't. Don't ever say that." He told her. "You're not broken, if you were broken you wouldn't have gotten out, I saw in every God Damn video that you weren't broken. You didn't take anything without a fight." He soothed her.

"Okay, okay." Hailey repeated. "I'm not broken, just a little damaged."

"Nothing time and care can't take care of." Jay spoke up smiling at her. Hailey tried to smile back, but it didn't reach her eyes. "What if I took the cloth." Jay suggested. "Would that help?" He wanted more than anything for Hailey to be comfortable, but he knew she needed to get cleaned up. Hailey nodded her head. Jay slowly took the cloth and brought it to Hailey's torso. As he wiped the blood away he talked to her calmly, trying to make sure she didn't freak out again. After about twenty minutes all of the dried on blood was cleaned off. The only thing that was left was to take care of her cuts.

"I'm going to need to disinfect these." Jay told Hailey. "It's gonna hurt like a bitch." He warned her. Hailey just nodded her head and prepared herself for the pain. Jay worked as quickly as possible, wetting the cloth with rubbing alcohol then putting the cloth over her cuts, and repeat. It didn't take very long for him to finish, but Hailey was whimpering by that time. "Sh, almost done, we're almost done." Jay tried to calm Hailey down. He hated seeing her like this, and he hated that there wasn't much he could do for her. "I'm, uh, gonna need to stitch some of these up." He said softly. "I'm sorry we don't have anything to knock you out with." He lamented.

"It's okay, I don't like being asleep." Hailey told him.

"Why's that luv?" He asked as he prepared the needle and thread.

"You can't really help what you dream." Hailey explained. Jay nodded in understanding. Doc had left a while ago and he now came back in with a bowl of soup and a glass of water.

"Once we're done with this you can have something to eat okay? But don't overdo it." Jay warned. Hailey nodded and tried not to scream when she felt the needle pierce her skin. She hissed when it was pulled back through the other side. After fifteen agonizing minutes Hailey was all stitched up and bandages had been applied.

Hailey ate her soup slowly, she didn't think anything had ever tasted so good. It was the first food she had had in two weeks. However she was full before it was even half gone. "That's okay luv, you'll be back to eating ridiculous amounts of food in no time." Jay tried to lighted the mood. Hailey started to laugh but winced in pain. She let out a yawn, but tried to hide it. She didn't fool Jay though. "You should go to sleep princess." He told her gently.

"I don't want to dream." Hailey whispered back.

"I know luv, but your body is exhausted, you need sleep." Hailey nodded her head, knowing that he was right. "Do you want a change of clothes?" Jay asked her, already knowing the answer. Hailey nodded, her voice was practically dead, so she didn't feel like speaking. Jay made his way over to her ox and pulled out some pj's they had bought for her but Hailey shook her head no. "Which ones do you want?" Jay asked. "The blue ones, purple? I don't think you want the pink ones, you've never worn them." HE started to ramble before Hailey shut him up by throwing the roll of gauze at him. She pointed to him and then to her shirt, hoping he got the message. "You want one of my shirts?" He asked curiously.

Hailey nodded her head. She knew it seemed strange to everyone, but sleeping in one of Jay's shirts was a constant reminder that she was actually here, and that it wasn't a dream. Jay handed her one of his larger shirts. "Let me know when you finish changing." He told her walking out of the room. Hailey was glad he understood that she wouldn't be able to change in front of him like she used to. When the shirt was on Hailey walked over and knocked on the door signaling that she was done. Jay walked back in and smiled at her.

Hailey frowned, she hated feeling so helpless; she hated the fact that everyone was treating her like she was about to break. And she hated the fact that they were right. Hailey crawled into the bed and lied down comfortably. Jay stationed himself in a chair, he wasn't sure if he should get into the bed with her. He hoped he could, but for once he understood, and respected someone's weakness. Hailey smiled, glad, and yet not glad, that Jay wasn't in the bed with her. She didn't think she would be able to not freak out, but she had missed it. Her musings were cut short by sleep overpowering her body. She was truly exhausted. Jay smiled as he saw her breathing slow down, signaling that she was asleep. She needed the sleep. Getting up out of the chair he walked out the door, he had some business to attend to.

A/N1: Yay so Hailey's safe, a little bit…or a lot mentally scared, but at least she's not with the mob.

A/N2: So how many people thought Phil was a mob member or some creep at first? I wasn't really sure what should happen there so I just wrote and that's what happened. I know some of you want Batman to make an appearnce so don't worry I haven't forgotten about him.

A/N3: Thank you all for reading and a special thanks to peaches, Bethhh, Airasey19, kellemarine, SakuraBlossom58, Denae Steele, 502 and tori for reviewing/bugging me to update.


	19. I'm Not Broken

Hailey woke up screaming, something that had been happening a lot lately. She looked over to the chair Jay had been in to calm herself down and prove she was actually home. But the chair was empty. Hailey flew out of bed and to the door; luckily it was unlocked. She made her way downstairs, hoping Jay was just in the kitchen or something; but he wasn't. Now Hailey started to freak out, where was he? Why wasn't he here? Had something happened to him? These thoughts flew through Hailey's head and she felt her vision become blurry. She felt herself getting closer and closer to the floor and would have hit it had a pair of arms not caught her. Hailey looked up hopefully, but it wasn't Jay.

"What are you doing down here?" Doc asked concerned.

"I…I woke up and Jay was gone." Hailey told him. "Where is he?" She asked concerned. She didn't like the fact that he wasn't here.

"He went out." Doc told her. He soon realized he was going to have to tell her more than this. "He wants to take care of the mob but we don't have enough guys for it." He elaborated.

"So he's just getting more guys?" Hailey asked relieved. She had been worried he was going to try and take on the mob one handed. Doc nodded in confirmation.

"C'mon, boss will kill me if he comes home and you're up." Hailey shook her head; she didn't want to sleep anymore. "Well can we at least go upstairs so I can pretend that I didn't know?" Doc joked.

"Okay," Hailey smiled softly. Doc tried to move a hand to guide her but Hailey moved around it and made her way out of the room. Hailey sat down on the bed with a sigh. She couldn't fall back asleep, she needed Jay here with her, but he wasn't. "He promised, he promised e wouldn't leave me." Hailey told herself letting tears fall down her face. Hailey wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, curled up in a ball on the bed. Even though she was exhausted she wouldn't let herself give into sleep. She was too afraid. Hailey caught sight of herself in a mirror and frowned. She looked like shit. Her hair was matted all over her face, which was pale and sickly looking. She was the thinnest she could ever remember being.

"I'm not broken." Hailey repeated to herself. "They will never break me!" She said louder. With that she grabbed some of her clothes from the box on the floor and walked into the bathroom. "First step to recovery, a shower." She told herself. Hailey couldn't remember anything feeling so good. Sure Doc and Jay had washed her off, but it just wasn't the same as a shower. Hailey looked for shampoo and laughed when she saw her brand was still there. After about twenty minutes Hailey exited the shower and got dressed. Even though she had only gotten four, maybe five hours of sleep she felt refreshed. That was the most she had gotten in a while, and she knew that she was safe, at least for now. Hailey saw that it was approaching dawn so decided to go down to the kitchen; she was really hungry. 'Duh, you haven't eaten anything except less than half a bowl of soup for two weeks.' She told herself sarcastically. When Hailey got downstairs she saw some of the guys were awake by the doors.

"What are you doing up?" Hailey asked them curiously. Usually the guys were lazy asses and slept in as much as possible.

"We have a watch set up." Mark replied. Hailey felt her heart swell with gratitude; they had set up a watch to make sure she was safe.

"You look better." Phil spoke up.

"I feel better." Hailey replied. "However I'm ready to bitch slap Jay." She told them. They all chuckled, glad to have Hailey back, for now at least. "What do you want to eat?" She asked them. She decided that she would feel better the sooner she got back onto her normal routine.

"You can't cook!" Mark shouted. "You just got back!" He added.

Hailey laughed, for the first time in weeks. "I like cooking, it helps me keep my mind off of things." She explained ending softly as her mind wandered back to the last week. She shook her head, no she wouldn't think about that. 'Hakuna matata' she told herself causing her to snort in laughter. She was quoting a Disney movie.

"Okay, well in that case anything you want to cook." Mark replied. Phil nodded in agreement.

"Good, I'll see what we have." Hailey answered heading to the kitchen. She paused when she heard a noise, looking at the door she saw the Joker walking in with six or seven knew men. "Do you guys want breakfast?" She called out, surprising the Joker.

"Whoa, you've got a bitch?" One of the men asked in awe. Instead of replying the Joker threw a knife at him. It landed right in his heart. The man slumped to the floor his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.

"If the rest of you didn't get the message I don't have a bitch, I have my girl. And if any of you even _think_ about touching her, it will be the last thing you do. Understand?" he growled out. He didn't need his new guys coming in and messing with Hailey's mind more than it already was.

"So, is that a yes or a no on the breakfast front?" Hailey asked, Honestly she hadn't been fazed by the Joker killing the guy at all. She was actually kind of glad, it showed her cared, in his strange messed up way.

"Yes for me." Joker called out. He turned to the guys questioningly. None of them replied. 'Must have scared them.' He thought to himself.

"You know he doesn't kill you for answering his questions." Hailey called out.

"Um, I'd like some, if…I mean if it's not too much to ask." One of the guys replied quietly. He was obviously terrified.

"No problem at all." Hailey replied smiling. The rest of the group replied as well, finally realizing the Joker wouldn't kill them. Joker walked into the kitchen and towards Hailey. Before he got too close Hailey slapped him across the face. Hard.

"What the hell was that for?" He growled at her.

"You broke your promise." Hailey said, her voice breaking at the end. "You promised me you wouldn't leave me, but when I woke up you weren't there." Hailey was crying by now. She couldn't help it, she tried to be string, but it wasn't working. "I…I didn't know where you were and at first I thought I was back with the mob. But then I started thinking that maybe you were hurt or…or…" Hailey stopped talking as she cried harder and harder.

"I'm sorry princess." Jay told her. "I didn't think you would be up before I got back.

"I told you I didn't like sleeping." She told him shakily. Jay moved forward, soon their faces were only inches apart. Hailey tried to calm herself down. 'It's Jay not Gambol.' Soon Jay had closed the gap in between them. But it didn't last long. All Hailey could think of was Bill forcing his lips against hers. Hailey pushed Jay away and stumbled back. Jay just stood there shocked for a moment. Hailey was curled up in a ball and crying on the floor. As Jay leaned closer he heard her mumbling. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I just can't." She said quietly.

"It's alright luv." Jay replied, even though part of him was pissed off. But it wasn't her fault.

"I don't like being like this." She mumbled. "I worked so hard last time to get over it…and it took so long…and…and now this is worse. What….what if I don't get over this?" Hailey broke down, sobs wracking her body. Jay looked at her shaking violently and didn't know what to do. He slid down next to her, wanting to hold her in his arms but not sure if that would make things better or worse. Hailey decided for him and leaned into him. Jay opened his arms to her and let her just cry against his shirt. After a couple of minutes Jay's shirt was completely soaked and Hailey finally stopped crying. "I'm going to cook now." Hailey told him standing up and moving towards the fridge. She pulled out eggs, bacon, sausage, pre-packaged hash browns, milk, and butter. She moved quickly around the kitchen and before Jay knew what was happening there was bacon and sausages frying, eggs being scrambled, hash browns cooking, and pancakes being flipped. He really wasn't sure how she did it.

Hailey was finished with everything roughly twenty minutes later. "Do you want to go get the guys?" Hailey asked Jay turning to look at him still on the floor. For some reason he hadn't left that position since she got up.

"Uh, yeah sure toots." He replied pushing himself off the floor to go find his gang. Breakfast was an interesting affair. There were about fourteen guys in the kitchen, and then there was Hailey and Jay. Hailey had made enough food to feed an army, which was good because that's how these guys were eating. As soon as she was done Hailey slipped out of the room for some peace and quiet. Jay noticed she had left and followed her. He found her in their room staring at a picture. Looking at it closer he saw that it was of Hailey, from a couple of years ago, with her family. Jim and Barbara were behind Hailey on either side of her, and Hailey was holding Jimmy while Jamie looked up at her adoringly. "Do you want to call them?" Jay asked quietly. He really didn't want her to; he didn't like sharing. Sure he was selfish, but that's okay because didn't really care what people thought of him. Well except for Hailey, he cared what she thought.

"Can I?" Hailey asked softly, almost not believing it was real.

"Of course," Jay replied. He couldn't believe she would think that he wouldn't let her.

"Thank you." Hailey said emotion filling her voice. Jay handed her a disposable cell phone.

"Let me know when you're finished." He told her before walking out the door. He didn't really want to leave her alone, he was afraid that her parents would convince her to come back home. But he realized that she would want this conversation to be private. It would be very emotional for her.

Hailey stared at the phone for a solid minute before dialing her home number. She almost hung up when she heard her moms voice answer the phone. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. "Hello?" Barbara asked. Hailey could tell she was tired from her voice. Hailey didn't reply right away so Barbara spoke up again. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Hi," Hailey managed to squeak out.

"Um, who is this?" Barbara asked, not recognizing the squeak as being Hailey's voice.

"It's me mom." Hailey choked out. She couldn't believe she was getting thus emotional.

"Hailey? Oh my God Hailey!" Barbara cried out. "Jim! Jim quick pick up the phone it's Hailey! Oh God it's Hailey!" Jim hurried to the phone and picked it up so quickly he almost dropped it.

"Hailey?" He breathed, not daring to believe it was actually his daughter on the phone.

"Hey daddy." Hailey replied softly.

"Oh Hailey! I'm so glad you're alive. Where are you? We'll come get you right now!" Gordon told his daughter. Hailey felt tears streaming down her face. She felt so bad.

"I'm safe." Was all she told them.

"Yes, but where are you safe?" Barbara inquired.

"I'm with Jay," Hailey said quietly, not sure how they would react.

"What?" Gordon yelled. "I'm sorry, I mean I'm happy that you're safe but Hailey you should come home darling."

"I can't," Hailey told them.

"You mean he won't let you? That bastard!" Gordon screamed. "That bastard! That's it! Tell me where you are I'm coming to get you! I don't care what that freakish clown says!"

"Don't call him that!" Hailey yelled at her father. "He is not a freakish clown!" She was breathing heavily now. "He's not keeping me here against my will dad." She said in a normal tone. "But it's not safe for me back home." She explained. "We don't know who works for the mob, or who will be willing to be paid off by the mob. If I come back home I'll always be looking behind me to make sure that no one is following me. I won't be able to sleep, to eat." Hailey begged her family to understand. Until the mob was shut down there was no safer place for her than with Jay.

"I could contact Batman.' Gordon told her desperate for a way for her to get away from the Joker. "I'm sure he would let you stay with him, and I mean his place has got to be safe right?"

"Dad, I highly doubt Batman will want someone living with him. He doesn't want anyone finding out who he is." Hailey explained.

"I know," Gordon sighed in defeat.

"Can I talk to Jamie and Jimmy for a sec. I'll tell them I went back to school or something." Hailey asked.

"Of course hun." Barbara answered. It was silent on the line for a few minutes before Hailey heard the wonderful sound of children's voices.

"Hailey!" She heard them squeal happily.

"Hey guys how's it going?" Hailey asked trying to keep her voice light and happy.

"Good now that we're talking to you." Jimmy answered happily.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I can't see you guys but I went back to school after I got away because that way it's safer." Hailey lied to them. But it was for their own good. They shouldn't have to know that she's fallen for Gotham's number one crime lord.

"That's o'tay." Jamie spoke up. "As long as you're safe an' we can talk."

Hailey couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Yes I'm safe and of course we can talk. Whenever I'm free." Hailey told her, hoping that she wasn't lying.

"There's been a guy coming over as'ing 'bout you." Jimmy told Hailey.

"Really?" Hailey asked surprised, who would be looking for her. "Who?"

"Um, that rich guy from the TV, um Brian?" Jimmy asked.

"Bruce?" Hailey said surprised. Why would Bruce be asking about her.

"Yeah, Bruce!" Jimmy exclaimed happily.

"Oh, well let him know that I'm fine will you?" Hailey asked.

"Of course we will." Jimmy said. "I like him, hey! You guys should date!" he yelled out.

Hailey laughed at this statement. She doubted Jimmy knew exactly what dating was. "I don't think so Jimmy, I'm all the way at school and he doesn't seem like my type."

"Oh, okay then." Jimmy said, not really caring either way.

"Well I have to go okay? I'll call you all later." Hailey spoke up, feeling tears coming to her eyes. It was so good to hear their voices again, even just over a phone.

After a choruses of good-bye's Hailey hung up the phone. She walked out to the door and into Jay's study, where she found him hunched over his desk. "Um, here, thank you." Hailey told him handing him the phone.

"Are…are you leaving?" Jay asked quietly. He didn't want her to, but he wouldn't stop her if that's what she wanted.

"Um, no, unless you want me to." She told him hanging her head. Did he not want her here now that she was all messed up?

"What? That's crazy talk of course I don't want you to leave!" Jay exclaimed jumping up from his seat.

"Really?" Hailey asked, feeling herself getting all misty eyed.

"Really, really." Jay replied pulling her into a hug. He felt Hailey stiffen against the hug, but soon she relaxed into him content. "You wanna watch a movie?" Jay asked quietly. He knew that movies always made her feel better, he wasn't really sure why though. He felt Hailey nod against his shoulder, but she made no attempt to move from her current position. "Are you going to move?" Jay asked quietly.

"Not yet." Hailey replied leaning closer to him and inhaling his familiar scent. It felt good to just be here, like this. Once they pulled out of the hug they stayed close, nearly touching. Hailey looked into Jay's deep brown eyes and made a decision. She closed her eyes and moved forward. ( I was thinking about ending the chapter here but I had the feeling you all would not be very happy with that)

Jay was surprised as Hailey leaned forward, but he did not protest in the least. It was complete bliss as her lips made contact with his. It was a sweet kiss, and it lasted only a moment, but it made Jay the happiest he had been in a very long time. Once Hailey pulled back she looked at him shyly, biting her lip. "So, movie?" Hailey asked him smiling.

Jay couldn't help but laugh, this women could change moods so quickly. "Yes movie time." He replied taking her hand and leading her downstairs. Today was definitely a good day.

A/N1: So what do you guys think! Pretty quick update huh? Yay for snowdays! And another yay for two snowdays in a row! Whooo!

A/N2: so I'm going to post either Black and White or WTF? Who the Hell is Salazar. SO let me know which one you guys want more. Or if you want another one of my stories posted. BTW I started a Bruce Wayne story…so yeah.

A/N3: thanks again to kellemarine, Airasey19, Denae Steele, Reilaxx, milify-star, midnightrose1993, and tori.


	20. He's Not Here

Bruce couldn't believe what Gordon was telling him. It couldn't be true; Hailey wouldn't do that, would she? "So she escaped, and instead of going to the police, she wanders around the narrows looking for the _Joker_?" he questioned, praying that he had misheard Gordon.

"Yeah," Gordon sighed, still not quite believing it himself. Bruce couldn't believe this, he had finally started to get over Rachelle, and now the girl who had caused that was with the Joker, willingly! It wasn't like she was his partner in crime or anything; but still, it was a slap in the face to the billionaire.

"Well, what do we do?" he asked Gordon tiredly. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Instead he had been out searching for Hailey who was now with the Joker! He probably hadn't even been looking for her.

"I don't know." Gordon replied. He was at a complete loss of what to do. "It's protocol for us to go look for her, but, this sounds crazy, but I think she's safest with him." He admitted hating the fact.

"Well what about Batman?" Bruce asked, hoping Gordon wouldn't find that suspicious. He didn't want him to find out his secret. He wasn't quite sure how he would react. He doubted that he would tell anyone but still, better safe than sorry.

"Well, I doubt he would want someone staying with him, she might find out who he is." Gordon answered, using the same argument Hailey had used against him earlier. Bruce nodded in understanding. He could see Gordon's point, but he really wouldn't care if Hailey found out as long as she was safe.

"Right, well I've got to head back to the office. I'll see you later." Bruce replied walking out the door. Gordon nodded and headed back to work. But he couldn't seem to pay attention to any of it anymore. All of his thoughts were of Hailey, and wishing that she were back home safe and sound. But instead she was with the Joker, possibly safe and sound. In fact it was likely, but she still wasn't home where she was supposed to be.

"So, uh, what movie do you want to watch?" Jay asked Hailey happily. Hailey thought back to her recent flashback and smiled.

"Pirates!" She exclaimed happily. She had been really happy then.

"But we just watched that like three weeks ago." Jay replied looking at her like she had gone crazy. Why would she want to watch it again?

"Well you asked." Hailey shot back fake frowning and crossing her arms. "If you don't like my suggestion pick your own." She replied haughtily, trying not to smile.

Jay sighed, he had just gotten her back and already she was mad at him. "No, we can watch pirates." He replied and pulled it from the shelf. Hailey squealed in delight and made herself comfortable on the couch. Jay came and settled himself next to her, throwing his arm around her casually. Hailey snuggled against him and made herself comfortable. Soon a bunch of the guys came in and watched it with them.

_This is just like my memory_. Hailey thought to herself. _Except someone's missing._ Part of her said. It was then that Hailey remembered Will. _How could I have forgotten?_ She asked herself. _I'm such a bad person. Oh God it's all my fault that he's dead! All my fault!_ Hailey hadn't realized she had started to cry until she felt Jay's hand gently wipe away one of her tears.

"What's wrong princess?" He asked her concerned. She had been happy just a minute ago! Women and their mood swings.

"He….he's not here." She replied softly. Jay looked at her confused not knowing who she was talking about.

"Who's not here luv?" Jay asked. He looked around the room to see if anyone else knew, but they all looked as confused as he was.

"W…Will," Hailey choked out. "He…he d…died because of m…me," she explained letting the tears fall down her face. She had never really had the proper chance to mourn him. I mean sure she had been at home, but she was more in shock of being taken away than anything. And then the mob had come, and well yeah. But now reality was crashing down on her as she finally completely realized that he was gone. As long as she had been away from the guys she could always pray that he hadn't died and that he was here with them. But being here now, with him gone, crushed that hope, and it mocked her for even thinking that it was possible.

Jay sighed in frustration. Even when he was dead that kid was taking Hailey away from him. "Sh, sh, it's gonna be okay." He tried to comfort her.

"Did….did you guys burry him?" Hailey asked. She prayed that the answer was yes. She couldn't bear the thought of Will just being dumped somewhere. Jay turned to Doc and Phil raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah we did." Doc replied softly. "It's at an old cemetery right under a beautiful tree. He would have loved it." Hailey nodded her head. That was good at least.

"Th…that's good." Hailey said after she had calmed down a bit. _Okay Hailey, you can do this._ She told herself. _You can calm down and move on, yes Will is dead, but you need to move on. Compartmentalize. You've mourned for him, and you'll always remember him, but you can't let this hold you back._ 'I can do this,' Hailey told herself firmly. After that they settled down to watch the movie with no more disruptions. Hailey leaned against Jay and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. Hailey smiled at the end of the movie. She loved the ending and never understood why they had to go and make a second and third movie. In her opinion it kind of ruined the whole thing. "What movie's next?" She asked happily. She had been through so much all she wanted to do was sit on a couch and watch movies all day. Not have to worry about anything just yet, just snuggle here with Jay. That thought caused Hailey to snort; no one else would _want_ to snuggle with the Joker. And she doubted that he would appreciate it if she brought up the fact that he snuggled

Jay looked at her like she was crazy; he was a man of action he couldn't just sit here all day watching movies! "Another, uh, movie princess?" he asked her.

"Yeah, why? Do you have somewhere to go?" She asked quietly. She really hoped that he didn't have anything to do today. She had been through so much all she really wanted was to be in Jay's arms.

'Damn that girl! I can't say no to that face.' Jay thought to himself frustrated. "No, no, I don't have anything to do. What movie do you want to watch next?" He asked, hating himself with every word. But the look on Hailey's face was worth it.

"Um," Hailey paused to think. "Oh, how about True Grit? It's a western!" She said happily. It had been a while since she had seen a western; it would be nice to watch a classic.

"Uh, luv. We don't own any westerns." Jay told her looking at her strangely. Why on earth would she think they owned any westerns? I mean could she really see him watching a freaking Western?

"Yes you do, you have this one. I had one of the guys buy it for me a while back." She explained, seemingly very happy with herself. Jay just started at her; he really didn't want to watch a western! I mean it was a western for Christ's sake!

"Are there at least explosions?" He asked her.

"Um, there are gun shots, and snake pits, and people dying or getting parts of their arms cut out because of snake bites." Hailey told him thinking. "But I don't think there's any explosions." She added.

"Well, it doesn't sound _too_ bad." Jay relented.

"Yes!" Hailey shouted for joy, jumping up and doing a little dance over to the movie shelf. Hailey put the film in and settled back down next to Jay, completely content for the moment.

The same could not be said for Gordon. Even though he knew that Hailey was 'safe', she was still with the Joker. "I mean she went to _him_ again Barbara. Not us her family, but the Joker! What if we have really lost her?" He asked sadly. He hated to think that, but maybe it was true.

"Jim, calm down. I know this looks bad, but things could be worse, I mean at least she's safe." Barbara tried to calm him down. However the fact was that they didn't know she was safe. The Joker was a madman. He could like Hailey today and kill her tomorrow, but at least she wasn't with the mob. "And if we really had lost her would she have called?" She looked at Jim to articulate her point and waited for an answer.

"No, you're right." Gordon relented. "But I can't help but to worry." Barbara looked at her husband like he was crazy.

"Of _course_ you're worried, you're her father for Christ's sake, you'd be a bad father if you didn't worry about her when she's at college let alone with the Joker, but for now this is as good as we're going to get." Barbara explained. Since Hailey had stormed out weeks ago Barbara had tried to understand her daughter more, and if she didn't understand, at least accept. She didn't want any repeats of what had happened after Bruce's party. In a way Barbara couldn't help but feel this was all her fault. If she hadn't betrayed Hailey's trust like that she wouldn't have run away. If she hadn't run away she would have never gone back to the Joker and consequently told him about the mob. If he didn't know about the mob then he wouldn't have killed Maroni. And if Maroni wasn't dead the mob wouldn't have gone after Hailey again, and she wouldn't have had to escape and go running to the Joker, the only place she felt safe. "What I don't understand is why Bruce Wayne is so upset about this. I mean he barely knows Hailey." Barbara said trying to lighten the mood. It worked. Gordon like Bruce, even if he acted like a playboy to the public Gordon could see it was just an act, but he didn't let Bruce know.

"Well he's taken a liking to Hailey." Gordon smiled. "They got along well at his party, and maybe he feels partly responsible since the Joker crashed his party." Gordon mused. "Come to think of it, I didn't see him at all when the Joker was there, but then again it was complete chaos." He said, more to himself than to his wife.

Bruce was in his 'bat cave' pacing back and forth. He was trying to find out where Joker could be staying. He knew that he wouldn't go back to his old place, besides it was being watched by the police, everyone would know right away if the Joker were caught. Bruce had devised a chart system of the entire city. It was color coded by which places the Joker would most likely be staying. He was going to start searching the next night. But tonight he had to pretend to be a playboy and go out with some blonde.

"What's her name again?" he thought to himself. "Vivian? Yeah I think its Vivian." He said looking at his watch. "Time for me to get ready." He walked towards the elevator and headed up. Soon he was back at his penthouse getting ready. Alfred had laid out his clothes for his date tonight on his bed. "God bless that man," Bruce thought. "I'd be so lost without him." Too soon for his taste it was time for him to leave. He look the Lamborghini, he knew Vivian would like that. To be fair she was a sweet girl, but not someone he could ever see himself settling down with. He knew that he couldn't keep up this playboy act forever, if anything the company needed an heir. He had been looking for the right girl for some time now, but he still wasn't having much luck. The trouble was all the girls who were tripping over their feet to go out with him weren't that smart or trustworthy, and all the sensible girls stayed away from playboys like him. Sometimes he hated the act that he put on, but he didn't have a choice. Gotham would always need Batman, and Bruce couldn't have the public even suspect that he was Batman. Being a playboy, while annoying, was a good cover. No one would even suspect that selfish playboy Bruce Wayne was Batman.

By this time he was at Vivian's house. He got out of the car and walked to the door. She had obviously been waiting for him because before he could even knock she had opened the door. She was wearing a short light blue dress that hugged her curves and flared out at the bottom. This was going to be a long night for Bruce.

Lee spoke softly into the receiver of the phone. "Yeah boss I'm in," He waited for his boss's reply before speaking up again. "No he doesn't suspect a thing don't worry." He paused again. "He wants to come after you, well actually the entire mob. And he's not joking either, he really wants to kill all of us." Once again the man's bass spoke on the other side. "Yes I'll let you know if anything important happens. And don't worry I'll have the bitch soon, then he won't dare to do anything. As long as he thinks she's alive we'll be alright."

Lee stopped as he heard footsteps approaching. "I've got to go someone's coming and we're not supposed to use the phone. I'll call you when I can." With that he hung up and quickly made his way out of the room and away from the phone. On his way to the kitchen he passed by Hailey, she smiled at him and he sneered at her when her back was turned. 'Just wait bitch, just you fucking wait. You won't be smiling soon.'

A/N1: Hey guys I'm so sorry this has taken so long but family issues came up. But anyway here it is chapter 20! Whooo! Let me know what you think.

A/N2: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this! I love you all!

A/N3: Almost have the first chapter to Black and White done so it should be up soon!


	21. I Don't Like Liars

It had been weeks since Hailey had moved back in with Jay and the guys and she couldn't be happier. It was almost as if she had never left. The new guys were slowly getting used to the fact that she wasn't a hostage of the Joker's, and that she wasn't his accomplice either. Most of the guys were perfectly nice to her, but this one guy would send her glares when he thought she wasn't looking. She hadn't mentioned it to anybody yet. He didn't seem harmful; so she saw no reason to worry everyone. She was getting better at trusting males again, but she still wouldn't hug anyone except the Joker, not even Ben. He was slightly hurt by this because they had been so close earlier, but being a doctor he realized how she must feel and therefore didn't push her.

Although she was getting more comfortable with Jay, she still couldn't forget about what happened with the mob. After that one kiss she had given him she couldn't do it again. Every time she tried she would see Gambols face mocking her. Also Jay still had to sleep in the chair and not in bed with her, which calmed her nerves, but made her feel guilty. The other problem that faced Hailey was that she was still having nightmares. She had gotten better at waking up quietly so as not to worry Jay, but they were taking a toll on her, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Luckily the Joker was a male, and therefore not perceptive enough to realize that there was something wrong. Recently he had been caught up in his work, in order to successfully attack the mob he had to plan extensively, although he would never admit that he planned. Hailey sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Soon people would start noticing that she wasn't sleeping well, and then what? What could they really do? She just had to work through this herself, she had done it before and she'll do it again. Hailey was interrupted from her thoughts by Jay walking into the room.

"Hey Jay." She said faking a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hey there beautiful." Jay replied moving towards her. Hailey leaned against his tall frame and he wrapped his arms around her.

'This feels good.' Hailey thought to herself. "So what have you been planning?" Hailey asked pulling away and sitting down on the bed. Jay sat next to her casually throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"Something big." He smiled. Hailey rolled her eyes; of course he wouldn't give her a straight answer.

"Have you been avoiding the bat?" Hailey asked curiously. Lately Jay hadn't been coming home hurt, which either meant that he had become much better at dodging recently, or that he had been avoiding the Bat. Her money was on the second option.

"I haven't been avoiding him, I just haven't been looking for him." Jay explained. "He thinks that he's the one who always finds me, but I know where he'll be and go there, _then_ he finds me."

"Oh, wow it'd really be a blow to his ego if he found that out." Hailey laughed. It wasn't that she didn't like Batman or anything. She knew he was good, but she loved Jay, not the Bat. Thinking of Batman caused her mind to stray back to the mob. No matter how hard Hailey tried she just couldn't forget it.

"Hailey, Hailey. HAILEY!" Jay finally yelled.

"Huh?" she asked snapping out of her trance.

"Are you okay?" he questioned concern etched in his face.

"Yeah, sorry I was spacing." Hailey lied. The Joker growled in frustration and whipped around to look at her.

"Look princess, I like ya. But I can't stand liars. Do you understand me?" he practically snarled out. Hailey nodded her head in fear. Lately she had been used to Jay, she sometimes forgot that he was the Joker. "Now I've let you get away with it for the past couple of weeks hoping that you would snap out of it or at least tell me. But no such luck, so I'm going to ask you again. Are you okay?"

Hailey couldn't help it, so she started crying. He had noticed, but had wanted to give her space. And how had she repaid him? By lying to him. Hailey finally shook her head no. "I…I'm not okay Jay." She choked out. "I'm scared. I'm scared th…that they'll find me again. Or that you'll go out looking f...for them and y…you won't come b…back." She explained. "I…I can't sleep at night b…because I d…dream that I'm b…back with the mob, only this t…time you're d…dead and I'm all alone. And my f...family doesn't care anymore b…because I left them for you. A…and." Hailey could take it anymore. She broke down crying on Jay's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and let her tears soak his shirt.

"Sh, sh. Everything's going to be fine. I promise you I'll never let those fucking bastards get to you again. I promise!" Jay told her trying to calm her down. Hailey nodded against his shoulder and slowly stopped crying.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now." Hailey mumbled into Jay's shirt. Jay went to stand up since she still couldn't sleep in a bed with him, but to his surprise she held onto his jacket. "Don't leave me." She whispered. Jay smiled. He had been waiting for weeks to hear those words.

"I'm not going anywhere princess." He told her helping her get under the covers and then joining her. Hailey hesitantly closed her eyes before drifting off to sleep. Jay soon joined her. This was the first night in a since Hailey had been taken away from Jay the first time that she slept through the entire night.

Lee had waited patiently until he was sure that the Joker was asleep, he couldn't get caught sneaking out. He especially couldn't be followed; that would blow the entire plan. Lee cautiously made his way out of the hideout and softly closed the door behind him. He then quickly mad his way through the narrows to the spot where he was supposed to meet Gambol. Luckily he arrived a few minutes early, Gambol hated it when anyone was late. Lee knew that Gambol couldn't afford to kill him right now, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't still hold a grudge when this whole thing was over. Lee was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching him. Looking up he saw that it was Gambol.

"What information do you have?" Gambol asked leaning against the wall.

"The Joker plans on attacking in two days, he found out where you're all staying. The attack will be sometime around two in the morning. The girl doesn't know when it will happen, only that it will soon. Joker said he'd need all of the guys in this, so she'll be alone. I wouldn't be surprised if she was asleep too." Lee informed him smiling. He knew he had done a good job.

"Ok, when he comes to attack us make sure you can slip away as soon as possible, meet us here and lead us to the girl. We'll have to be quick; as soon as he realizes that we're not there he'll know something is up. He may be a freak, but he's smart." Gambol explained. "From the time he realizes what's happened to the time he gets back to his place will only be about ten minutes, so that's all the time we'll have."

"I understand." Lee replied. Gambol made it sound like he was dumb; he wasn't dumb. He knew what the Joker could do, and what the Joker would do for the bitch. Hell, he'd been living with the guy for weeks! If he had ever had any doubts about the Joker they were now all gone. Especially after hearing what he planned on doing to the mob. Lee smiled at this thought; boy was he in for a surprise!

"Good, now go." Gambol dismissed him. Lee complied and walked away from his boss. He just hoped no one had noticed his absence.

When Lee got back it was just after one in the morning. No one was downstairs to see him creep in. Silently he headed towards his 'room'. All it was, was a cot in a corner. But soon he would be out of here. If they pulled this off he would be living like a king with he mob. This would be the highlight of his career. He fell asleep smiling, thinking about his future life.

Hailey woke up feeling refreshed; it was a good feeling, and one that she hadn't had in a very long time. Smiling, she realized that Jay was still asleep next to her, and that she was curled against his body, with his arm draped over her. Happily, Hailey realized that she hadn't woken up once last night, nor had she had a nightmare. 'He really is my savior.' Hailey thought to herself. Hailey went to go stand up but Jay arms held her close to his body. Hailey tried to get up again, and soon realized that he was awake and just playing with her. "Jack," Hailey whined. "I wanna get up!"

"And, uh, why would you want to go and, uh, do something like that, when you could stay here?" Jay asked smirking. He had obviously just woken up, the grogginess was evident in his voice. Hailey though for a moment, she really didn't know why she wanted to get up, it wasn't like she had anything to do.

"You're right," Hailey smiled and snuggled back against his chest. "Good night." She then tried to fall back asleep, maybe catch up on her lost time. The Joker studied her carefully. Her falling back asleep wasn't exactly what he had had in mind when he asked her why she wanted to get up. Jay smiled as he got an idea. He turned his head so his mouth was right next to Hailey's ear.

"Hailey," he breathed. She shifted a little as his breath tickled her ear, but otherwise made no signs of getting up. Jay realized that she must have actually fallen back asleep. He moved a bit closer, "Hailey," he spoke again, this time nuzzling his face in her neck. All that caused her to do was curl up into a ball to try and protect her neck, Jay wasn't having any of that. Before Hailey could react Jay reached out and started tickling her.

"Ah! Jay stop." She laughed, moving around to try and get away from him. "Haha, Jay no, stop please." Jay paid her no mind and kept on tickling her. That is until Hailey lashed out and caught him by surprise. Using his momentary shock to distract him Hailey attacked him, and started tickling him mercilessly.

Jay started laughing and thrashing around, much like Hailey had just been doing. Hailey laughed along with him, she couldn't believe she was actually tickling the Joker, it was kind of a strange thought. Eventually the tickling turned into play fighting, and before long Hailey found herself pinned under Jay, who was holding her wrists above her head. Hailey laughed as she tried to get out of this position and claim dominance once more, but to no avail.

Hailey stopped fighting and looked up at Jay. He slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. It was a soft kiss, and he pulled away. Before he could get too far Hailey moved her head so that her lips reached his and deepened the kiss; Jay didn't complain. He let go of her wrists so he could bring her closer to him. Hailey's hands found themselves wound in Jay's hair as he nipped at her bottom lip. Hailey complied and opened her mouth for him. Her hands moved down towards his shoulders and she dug her nails into him as he bit down in her lip. Obviously he had been waiting for this for some time now. Hailey was very glad that her mind shut down when he kissed her, or she may have started freaking out. Hailey and Jay's tongues fought for dominance and Jay's won. After a few more minutes Jay pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. He had the silliest smile plastered on his face.

"I could get used to waking up like this." He smirked.

"Maybe just skipping the tickling part next time." Hailey replied smiling. She tugged on his shirt causing him to fall down next to her. Hailey snuggled up next to him and grabbed his hand. Absentmindedly she started tracing all the scars that appeared on his hand. "What's your favorite food?" She asked him randomly after a couple minutes of silence. Jay smiled as he ran his fingers through her hair, she could be so random sometimes.

"Steak and eggs." He replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, I just figured it's one of those things I should know, so I could make it for you on special occasions, like your birthday." She responded. "Oh! When _is_ your birthday?" She asked. Suddenly she got very panicked. "I didn't miss it did I?"

Jay laughed at her, she was just so cute when she got all upset. It reminded him of how she was when he first met her. How did he get so lucky as to have her? "July 31st." He answered remembering her question.

"Thank God, I didn't miss it." Hailey said as she snuggled closer to him. "What do you want for your birthday?" She asked him. This caught him completely off guard, no one had gotten him a birthday present in years. Not since his mother had died.

"You don't need to get me anything." He replied feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes I do." Hailey argued. "You've done so much for me."

"That's okay, I don't need a present." He repeated.

Hailey noticed he seemed uncomfortable. "Are you alright Jay?" She asked, concern filling her voice.

"I'm fine," he replied, not wanting to go into detail.

"Hypocrite." Hailey mumbled to herself, but Jay heard her.

"What did you call me?" Jay asked, his voice not quite mad, but getting there.

"I called you a hypocrite." Hailey responded. "We practically had this same conversation last night, only our roles were reversed." Hailey paused to look at him. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong? I told you." Hailey added quietly.

Jay growled under his breath, he hadn't meant to upset her! "Look princess, it's complicated alright? I'm not a man used to getting presents from anybody, unless they're some sort of contraption trying to kill me."

"That's so sad." Hailey thought out loud. She only realized she had spoken, when Jay started laughing. "What's so funny?" She questioned crossing her arms and pulling away from him. It _was _sad!

"I'm sorry luv, I'm not laughing at you, it's just, I'm a criminal. And the fact that you feel sorry for me because I'm not used to presents is cute." He replied wrapping his arms around her. Hailey tried to resist, attempting to act like she was mad, but she melted against him.

"I hate you." She mumbled under her breath. Jay just laughed.

"Don't lie luv." Jay reprimanded her. Hailey just stuck her tongue out at him before falling back asleep.

A/N1: Well there it is chapter 21. I'm sorry It's been so long but I've been so bust with Solo and Ensemble, and to add to that my little friend writer's block came and showed up, but anyway now it's done! Yay!

A/N2: Thanks to everybody who's reviewed and/or added my story to favorites! It really means a lot to me. Hopefully I'll have another chapter out in a week or so. R&R!


	22. A Leaf from the Joker's Book

_A day later. _When Hailey woke up again she was alone. She had stayed up really late with some of the guys the night before. After she had told Jay about her nightmare's she had felt a lot better. She realized that it was stupid of her to believe that she wasn't safe with the guys. She wasn't safe without the guys. So the first thing she had done after waking up was to go and find Ben and then give him a hug. When she had pulled away from the hug. Ben's smile was second only to the one Jay had given her earlier. Finally back to her old self she had pretty much just partied with the guys until around two or three in the morning.

Glancing at the clock Hailey saw that it was eight at night. "Oh shit, I slept in late." She mumbled to herself before dragging herself out of bed. Deciding that she was hungry she made her way to the kitchen. On the way down she realized that no one was at the hideout, which was strange because even when Jay went out on missions he always left at least one or two guys with her. Upon arriving in the kitchen Hailey spotted a note on the table. Immediately recognizing Jay's handwriting she picked it up.

_The boys and I are going after the mob. Don't worry about us; we've got it planned out to the letter. I couldn't waste any guys to leave with you at home. We left around 7 and you were still asleep. You looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you. We should be back around twelve. After tonight you'll never have to worry about those ass-wholes ever again. See ya soon toots._

_~Jay_

Hailey smiled at the letter. Soon she would be free. Free from the nightmares, free from the fear. Free from everything. It was a couple of minutes later when Hailey heard footsteps at the door. 'That can't be them, they just left an hour ago.' Hailey told herself. Trying to keep her breathing under control Hailey looked towards the door. As the door handle turned she grabbed a kitchen knife to defend herself. The door opened completely and Hailey saw the form of Lee standing there. Letting out a sigh of relief she put down the knife. "Holy shit Lee, you scared the fuck out of me."

Lee smiled humorlessly. "Come with me, something went wrong and our position has been compromised." He explained to her. "Hurry, we don't have much time." Hailey did as instructed and followed Lee out of the house. As soon as she stepped through the doors she was grabbed around the waist by someone and a knife was put to her throat.

"Don't make a sound. Not that it really matters, since no one is around for miles." Someone whispered harshly in her ear. Hailey squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't believe this was happening again. Hailey looked over at Lee, betrayal clearly in her eyes.

"How could you?" She whispered.

"Whores like you deserve what they get." He replied shortly before turning away from her. He held out his hand o a man in the shadows Hailey recognized as Gambol. Gambol passed him a wad of cash and Lee walked away.

"Bring her quickly, they should be back soon." Gambol informed his men walking towards a car Hailey just noticed. Despite the threat from the man Hailey started struggling and screaming. In her opinion death would be better than whatever they were planning. However she was not able to struggle for long as she was hot over the head by something and soon lost consciousness.

The Joker swore loudly and kicked over a chair in the empty hideout. His goons were standing around him not knowing what to do. They had never seen the Joker this angry. Looking around Doc noticed that Lee was nowhere in sight. Putting two and two together he realized he must have snitched, which meant that…oh God Hailey!

"Boss!" Doc yelled frantically.

"What?" The Joker snarled turning around and pointing a gun at Doc.

The action may have scared Doc shitless earlier, but now he was more concerned about Hailey. "We need to leave now. Lee's not here so I think he was the snitch. Which means that the mob knows where our hideout is, that Hailey's there, and that she's alone." Doc rushed out. "We need to leave now!" the Joker nodded curtly and turned around all but running out of the room. The goons all pilled into the vans quickly and Joker was soon speeding away.

On the outside he seemed pretty calm, but in reality he was freaking out. Hailey couldn't get taken again. She didn't deserve this, any of this. She shouldn't even be with a guy like him. This was all his fault. He never should have left her alone. He shouldn't have been so hasty in his plans. If he had taken his normal precautions when hiring people none of this would have happened. And if he had been paying more attention to his men than to the plan he would have realized Lee was a snitch. He was loosing his touch. Shaking his head he returned his attention to the road. Luckily it was practically empty on the road, and the Joker was able to speed down the roads without any interference. In about half the time it had taken them to go to the mobs hideout, they had reached their hideout. The Joker rushed out of the car before he even turned it off and ran towards the house. He burst through the front door and quickly made his way upstairs. "Hailey! Hailey god damn it answer me!" He yelled. But he was only greeted by a mocking silence. "Fuck!" he yelled kicking the closest thing, which happened to be a lamp.

The Joker couldn't think; he couldn't breath. Hailey was gone, again and part of him was telling him it was his fault. "Boss?" Doc asked, his voice hopefully.

"She's not here." He replied quietly. He quickly turned and made his way out the door. "You're in charge while I'm gone." He told Doc before storming out the door. He honestly didn't know where he was going; all he knew is that he wasn't going to stop until Hailey was safe. Whether that was with him, or even with fucking batman he didn't care. As long as she wasn't with those bastards he would be okay.

The Joker must have been wandering through Gotham for hours when he ran into Batman, literally. Before he knew what had happened Batman had him pinned up against the wall. "Where's Hailey Gordon?" He growled out.

"I would love to be able to tell you." Joker whispered.

"What do you mean be able to? What did you do to her?" Batman yelled at him.

"I didn't do enough," Joker replied. Batman was perplexed; the Joker wasn't acting like his normal crazy self. "I made a plan to go after the mob, and left her alone. But there was a snitch, and by the time I got back it was too late." Batman froze. Hailey couldn't be dead! She just couldn't!

"Is she dead?" he asked praying the answer was no.

"I'm sure she wishes she were." Joker answered in a whisper. Batman's eyes narrowed. How did he know he could trust this man?

"How can I trust you? How do I know you actually care about her, or that the mob actually has her?" he asked gruffly. "And if you do care, why?"

Joker's defeated attitude dropped immediately and turned to one of anger. "You know Batsy, I think I've been pretty nice to you lately, and this is how you repay me?" he yelled. "You have no idea what I've seen those pigs do to her." By now his voice had dropped down to a dangerous growl. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be sent video's of the girl you love being tortured? Of having words literally carved into her? To have to watch, as she lies there helplessly while those filthy animals have their way with her? While they beat her to a bloody pulp? To be able to literally see the life draining out of her eyes? And then have her come back to you and be afraid of literally everyone, because in her mind all she can see is them!" Joker paused dramatically. "So don't you fucking dare say I don't care, or why should I care. You have no idea what I've been through, what she's been through!" Batman was astounded to say the least. To start off the Joker had said girl I love, and secondly of how awful Hailey had been treated by the mob. But the most surprising by far, was the fact that it was obvious the Joker meant every word he had said. Batman let the Joker down from the wall and backed away.

"Let's make a deal." He finally spoke. The Joker looked up expectantly. "You will stop terrorizing the city, and I'll stop hunting you until Hailey is found. We'll both look for her, and whoever finds her, is whom she stays with. Agreed?"

Any hesitation the Joker may have had with making a pact with his arch nemesis was shadowed by his need to know that Hailey was safe. "Agreed." He replied almost immediately. "We should break the city down into grids." He told batman. "The mob has a tendency to stay in one place for a while. So if we just break up the city and search everywhere, one of us is bound to find Hailey." Batman nodded and disappeared into the night.

When Hailey woke up she was tied to a chair, it took a moment before all of her memories of earlier came flooding back to her. The first thing she felt was fear, then anger, and finally determination. She wasn't going to be the helpless female anymore; that time had passed. Now it was time to take a leaf out of Jay's book, show no fear. It didn't take long for Hailey to realize that she wasn't alone; there were four guys in the room with her. She didn't recognize any of them, which meant that they must not be that high up on the food chain. They hadn't realized that she had woken up yet. 'What idiots,' she thought to herself rolling her eyes. She could barely hear them talking, so she strained her ears to eaves drop.

"I can't wait until the bitch wakes up, from what I've heard being her captor is a fun time, if you know what I mean." One guy said smiling.

"I know what you mean, I've heard the same thing. But do you think boss will keep her around very long, I mean she's kind of been a pain in the ass." Hailey decided it was time to speak up.

"I resent that." She spoke up, surprising herself with her voice's strength. "I think it's you guys who have been the pain in the ass. I mean shall we review what you've done to me?" Hailey paused to collect herself. Getting through the list without breaking down was going to be hard, but she could do it. "First off, you guys kidnap me when I'm fifteen and beat and rape me for information that I didn't posses."

"But you-" the guy who had spoken first started to say.

"Ah! Don't interrupt me, it's rude. As I was saying, the only reason I found out who it was, was because he was the person doing my bandages and apologized. And after I told you, you didn't even let me go! And when the police found me you left me for dead. Then years later you try to blow up my workplace! I mean really While I'm at work, and all those year later, you don't let go of grudges easily do you?" Hailey didn't wait for them to continue, she just kept on going. She knew if she stopped she wouldn't be able to continue. "Then after I get taken away from Jay you pay off the cops guarding me and kidnap me again, once again beating and raping me. I escape and now _this_? I mean is it really necessary? What have I _ever_ done to any of you?" Hailey finished her speech, she was proud of herself, not one tear and no voice cracks, she really should have been an actress.

The four guys were silent after her outburst. Whatever they were expecting that was not it. From what they had been told she was a pretty pathetic captive. Hailey tugged against the ropes, trying to see how tight they were. Unfortunately they were really strong. Hailey was about to say something else when the door opened and Gambol walked in. 'Well shit.' She said to herself. 'Okay, acting face on, I am the Joker, I am- God I sound crazy. Okay concentrate.' She scolded herself. Once her internal debate stopped she noticed that Gambol had gotten closer to her. Hailey blinked rapidly, when had he moved? "Well, hi." She told him. "Wonderful to see you again." Her voice was laced with sarcasm. Something else she had learned from the Joker, it was helpful in these situations, it helped cover up her fear.

Gambol was taken aback. He had expected her to start crying or something but not…whatever this was. "Do you know where Lee is? I need to do something." Hailey asked fake sweetly.

"Do what?' Gambol asked.

"Do what? What the hell do you think I'm gonna do? I'm gonna kill him!" Hailey screamed. "That mother fucking bitch sold me out!"

Gambol laughed at this. "He's not mother fucking sweetheart. But I can tell you who he will be fucking." His voice had dropped down low, obviously it was his 'seductive voice' but it wasn't really doing much for Hailey.

Hailey smirked inwardly before responding. "Really Gambol? That's just disgusting, I don't need to know about your homosexual impulses. Okay some things are meant to stay secret." Gambols face turned red with rage, and embarrassment. If his guys hadn't been afraid for their life they would have laughed, but they wisely shut their mouths. Hailey didn't have much time to gloat before his fist swung at her and she fell into darkness again. Her last thoughts were 'Well it was definitely worth it.'

A/N 1: I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to get out. I had major writers block and then I was gone for all of spring break and with the ACT and shit it just took a while. And then fanfiction was being done and wouldn't let me sign in. But now its out! Yay what do you think.

A/N 2: so I felt really bad for the Joker in this story…and Hailey but mainly the Joker especially when he's talking to Batman.

A/N 3: so I'm starting a new Joker story. I know I said I was going to post my Sirius Black story but I don't have enough written yet and I can't think of what should happen next so I'll post that when I get ideas. But in the mean time I'm almost done with chapter 1 of this new Joker story so I should be posting soon. Let me know what you think and sorry again for the wait.


	23. Ends Justify the Means

Hailey woke up with a major headache, and found herself still tied to the chair. Hailey looked around the room and saw that the same guys weren't guarding her. "Hey, hey you there with the shirt." Hailey called out. One of the guys turned around and Hailey couldn't help the unladylike snort that came out. Had he actually responded to that? "How long have I been out?" She asked.

"Not long enough," the guy mumbled under his breath before looking down at his watch. "Almost four hours." He replied before turning away from her. Hailey giggled to herself as she realized this guy was wary of her. She must have made quite some impression on the mob earlier. 'Or they could be scared out of their minds for what's gonna happen to them once the Joker gets a hold of them.' Part of her said. _Well I prefer to think that it's me_. She responded. She shook her head realizing that she was talking to herself.

"What's your name?" She asked the same guy.

"Look, we're not supposed to talk to you okay? So why don't you just shut your fucking mouth hm?" He snapped at her.

"Wow, someone has issues. I was just trying to be polite." Hailey mumbled under her breath. There were a few moments of silence before Hailey got bored again, "Are you guys planning on actually killing me again, or is it the normal stuff?"

The guy practically growled at her. "I really hope we kill you." He snapped.

"Well now that's just insulting, are you saying you don't find me even remotely attractive. I mean I can guarantee I'm cleaner than the whore you guys buy." Hailey knew she was pushing her luck, but she couldn't suppress a giggle. "I hope you don't kill me, I never even got to sleep with him." Hailey mumbled under her breath. 'Damn.'

"What was that you said girl?" One of the guys asked. Supposedly he wasn't as against screwing her as the other guy.

Hailey smirked inwardly. Part of her knew that there was no way she could get out of this alive; not the third time. But she wasn't going to cry about it; no, Jay had made her stronger than that. He had shown her that the only power they had over her was the power she let them have, and she wasn't giving up an inch. "Come over here and I'll tell you." She whispered seductively. She smirked again as she saw the guy swallow heavily and start to make his way over to her. He moved so he was standing next to her. "It's a secret, you're gonna need to get closer than that." Hailey whispered. He moved even closer so that his ear was next to her mouth. "I said-" Hailey started before bringing her foot up and nailing him in the crotch. She smirked with satisfaction as he fell the floor holding himself in obvious pain. "O well oops, I forgot what I said." She finished loudly and crossed her legs, or at least tried to. It was really difficult with the limited amount of movement she was allowed. The man just glared at her and limped back to where he had been sitting before. Hailey allowed herself a satisfied smile. s

Gordon stared at Batman and said the first words that came to his mind. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." He whispered. The entire police station was quiet. It had been a surprise to all of them when Batman just barged in. In all honesty it hadn't crossed any of their minds to arrest him. Batman shook his head slowly. Wishing he didn't have to be the bearer of bad news. "Shit!" Gordon yelled and kicked a desk. The papers on the desk scattered everywhere, but Gordon didn't notice.

"The Joker promised he wouldn't terrorize the city until Hailey was found." Batman spoke up after a while. "So that means you can spend more manpower looking for her, instead of trying to clean up his messes." Gordon nodded, knowing that was a good thing, but he was still in shock.

"Why can't they just leave her alone?" Gordon asked sadly turning towards Batman, but he was gone. "Marty, can you take care of this, I have to go home and tell Barbara."

"Of course Jim, you go and get your rest." Marty responded. He was in shock, just like everyone else. You'd think the mob would leave her alone. But no, they never forget. "Alright boys, keep your eyes and ears open. If you hear anything strange I want to know about it ASAP! Do I make myself clear?" Marty finally shouted out. The officers all nodded in understanding. "Good." He said heading towards his office.

Joker hadn't gone back to the hideout yet, he was going to be damned if he let Batman rescue his girl! He had been sure to search everywhere very carefully, to make sure he didn't miss Hailey, but because of his thoroughness he wasn't making much progress. Before long the sun started to come up, and Joker knew that he had to make his way back to the hideout before someone saw him. Reluctantly he turned around and headed back. He couldn't believe that the fucking mob had gotten to her again. And he couldn't believe that he hadn't realized there was a snitch, and that he had been so dumb as to leave Hailey alone! What had he been thinking? Joker needed to let off some steam and he knew exactly what to do. When he got back to the hide out everyone was asleep; this wasn't going to do.

"Everyone you have one minute to get your ass's down here!" he yelled as he walked through the door. Within the minute all of his men were downstairs still dressed in their sleep wear. Without even thinking twice about it Joker pulled out his gun and shot all of the new guys dead. He was going to make sure that there were no more snitches. "Clean up this mess boys, I'm going to bed." He told the guys before heading up the stairs. His men only let themselves breath after they were sure he was in his room.

"Christ I wasn't sure I was gonna get out of that alive." Phil sighed heavily.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, he seemed crazy." Doc responded. "Well crazier than usual." He amended.

"Yeah he is, and God knows what he will do if we don't get rid of these guys, so shut up and let's get this over with. I would like to sleep some time tonight." Lee cut in. They all nodded in agreement and dragged the bodies outside, making sure not to get any fingerprints on them. They wrapped them all in garbage bags and dumped them in the river near by, with weights tied to them. No one should find them, and if they did they wouldn't be able to trace the bodies back to any of them. They all turned around and headed back inside, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before the Joker woke them up in the morning.

The Joker could hardly sleep and he found himself awake a mere four hours after heading to bed. With a groan he got up and dressed, he knew there was no way he would be able to fall back asleep. He was in for a number of sleepless nights until Hailey was found. "Okay think, think." He told himself. "The mob has tons of safe houses, but they don't want anyone to find her, so it won't be one of the well known ones." He paused for a moment. "Or maybe it will be, that whole hide something in plain view kind of thing." He growled in frustration as he just continued to confuse himself. What he really wanted to do was go blow something up, but due to his stupid little pact with batsy that wasn't going to be possible.

Deciding that he wasn't going to get anything done in his room he got up and got dressed before heading downstairs. He absentmindedly started a pot of coffee and grabbed a number of maps of Gotham from the table. As his coffee brewed Joker noted every known mob house, every place the mob frequented, and every place they had ever been rumored to go. He decided that he would start with the known mob houses, then move to the clubs they went to and see what he could find out. Finally he would just sweep the city until he found her. And he would find her; there was no way he was going to let the damned mob win.

"And after that I'll track down that snake and kill him!" Joker said emphatically, referring to Lee.

Bruce woke up the next morning feeling awful. He had been out the entire night searching for Hailey, but with no luck. And now he had to go attend a meeting with someone from some company and pretend to like them when all he wanted to do was sleep. However Bruce had to keep up appearances. Luckily for him his appearance was a lazy playboy, so technically he could sleep during this meeting. With those happy thought Bruce got out of bed and hopped in the shower. A few minutes later found Bruce dressed and ready to go in the kitchen. Alfred was insisting that he eat breakfast before he left.

"Sir, you're already working yourself to the bone, if you don't eat anything you'll waist away." Alfred told him. Bruce realized that there was no way to win this argument and so sat down at the table to eat his breakfast. Brice finished quickly and made his way to his building, glancing at his watch he saw that he still had time before his meeting. Far too soon for Bruce the meeting had started, and if Bruce were not already exhausted, this meeting would have caused him to be. It took all of his effort to keep his eyes open, let alone focus on what the man was talking about. As much as he tried to concentrate his thoughts always strayed towards Hailey.

'Even the Joker never caused me this much of a problem.' Bruce thought back to everything he had done to catch the Joker. His mind flashed to the sonar he had used- that was it! If he could program that to Hailey's voice he could find her! He shot up suddenly and startled the man giving the presentation. Fox raised an eyebrow in his direction but didn't say anything.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I just remembered something terribly important. Perhaps we could reschedule this for sometime next week? I'll have my people call you." Bruce continued without waiting for an answer. Quickly he strode out of the room; he knew Fox would follow.

"Might I ask what that was?" Fox asked him smiling slightly. "Was it really that boring?" Bruce couldn't help but smile as well.

"I just thought I'd help you out Luscious, you looked bored to death." Bruce joked. "But seriously, I think I know how to find Hailey." The abrupt change in topic startled Fox, but he adjusted quickly.

"And how is that? I'll help in anyway that I can." He replied.

"I was thinking about everything we did to catch the Joker earlier." Bruce started.

"Go on," Fox said, clearly wanting Bruce to get to the point.

"Remember the sonar? How we could pin-point his location based on his voice heard from cell phones? Why can't we do the same thing with Hailey? The mob is bound to still have their phones on them when they're…." Bruce didn't want to think what they were doing to Hailey. "When they're around her." He finished.

"That's a fine idea sir, the only problem is that you destroyed the last one." Fox told Bruce.

"True, but I made it once, I can make it again. Will you help me Luscious? I know you hate the idea of that machine, but I need to find Hailey." If there had been any resistance in Luscious all of it disappeared when he heard the absolute desperation in Bruce's voice.

"I don't approve of the machine sir," Fox started and Bruce's face fell. "But I do suppose that sometimes the ends justify the means, right?"

Bruce smiled up at his long time friend and advisor. "You're a good man Luscious."

"As are you Mr. Wayne. A fine man." He replied with a smile.

A/N1: hey guys I'm so sorry this took me so long to get out. Things have been really hectic lately. First was my AP test, then superstae for band (which we won yay), then my dad was in the hospital. But now everything's calmed down so I can write again.

A/N2: thank you so much to Lady Avotil, bellac611, crystal2913, blackmoon1209, nidnightrose1993, SakuraBlossom58 , kellemarine , lenaaaa, and XPsychoBabyDollX for your reviews. They really mean a lot to me, and its because of you guys I keep on writing.

A/N3: my new joker story is up so feel free to let me know what you think of it.


	24. I'm Not Insane

Hailey struggled against her bonds, as had become her habit in the last couple of hours. She knew there was no way she was getting out of them, but honestly she was just bored out of her mind and needed something to do. After what she had done to the last guy who talked to her none of her guards were even coming remotely close to her. Hailey felt proud of herself for scaring them, but she wished they would at least talk to her. To help pass the time Hailey started singing softly to herself. "I feel insane every single time I'm asked to compromise. 'Cause I'm afraid and stuck in my ways and that's the way it stays. So how long did I expect love to outweigh ignorance? By that look on your face I may have forced the scale to tip." By this time Hailey had started singing a bit louder and the guys watching her were giving her strange looks.

Hailey paid no attention to them and continued singing. When she reached the chorus she smiled. She could imagine Jay singing this and completely meaning it. "I'm not insane, I'm not... not insane."

"Girl would you shut the fuck up?" One guy screamed at her, obviously a little freaked out by the fact that she wasn't acting like a normal captive.

Instead of responding Hailey just continued singing, "mother, Come back to me it's almost easy. Said at all. Come back again it's almost easy." Hailey stopped singing when one of the guys stood up and walked over to her.

"Bitch, we said stop fucking singing that song!" He screamed at her. Hailey slowly looked up at him and innocently blinked a couple of times.

"Funny, I remember asking you guys to stop, don't hit me, I don't know anything, please let me go, and a number of other things, I don't remember you all listening to me. Didn't your mother ever teach you the Golden Rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. I let you guys go first to see how you wanted to be treated; now I'm just returning the favor." Hailey replied her voice starting happy but ending in a very dark and menacing voice.

"Why you little-" One guy said lunging towards her, knocking her to the ground, still tied to the chair. The guys started to hit her, but instead of screaming and crying Hailey decided to try another one of the Joker's tricks. She started laughing. Surprisingly, she found that it actually helped numb the pain a little bit. Before the other members of the gang could join in Gambol burst through the door.

"I thought I made myself very clear when I told you all NOT to do anything to her until I got back." He growled out.

Quickly the man got off of Hailey, but left her toppled over. "Thanks." She said sarcastically. "It's not like I'm stuck down here or anything." She rolled her eyes. She felt herself get yanked upright harshly.

"And you," Gambol said to Hailey. "Stop egging my men on!" He snapped.

"Whoa, calm down, all I was doing was singing. You know 'cause it's boring down here and none of your men will talk to me." Hailey replied. Gambol just rolled his eyes.

"Well things are going to get a bit more interesting for you." He told her smirking.

"I have a feeling that there's an evil undertone in that message, am I right?" Hailey inquired. Gambol didn't reply but snapped his fingers and walked out of the room. The men came over to Hailey and untied her before leading her out of the room. "Dun, dun, dun." Hailey sang under her breath when she was lead into a dark room with just a chair in the middle. Hailey was shoved into the chair and her hands were tied behind her back. Gambol took out his phone and dialed a number.

Gordon jumped when his phone started ringing, he quickly picked it up, hoping it was Marty with some news on Hailey. "Hello?"

"Good afternoon Gordon." Jim heard Gambol say on the other line.

"Gambol, God damn it where is my daughter. I swear to God if you hurt her-" he was cut off by Gambol laughing.

"We haven't hurt her, well not too badly. But that could change very quickly if you don't do what we say." Gambol replied. "Now before we get into that I'll let you talk to your daughter, so you know she's alive." Gambol pressed the phone against Hailey's ear.

"Hey dad," Hailey spoke up chipprly.

"Hailey, Hailey oh God, are you alright? I'm so sorry sweet heart, I'm so sorry. We're going to get you back don't worry. I promise you that we'll get you back." Gordon said, trying to convince himself more than anything.

"Don't worry, I know you will. And I'm fine actually. Things have been better than past times, turns out I actually scared some of the guys. Supposedly they're not Avenged Sevefold fans." Hailey started to ramble.

"Hailey, don't do anything to make them angry, okay sweety, we're coming for you."

"Dad, can you do something for me?" Hailey asked.

"Of course, anything, anything at all." Gordon replied, on the verge of tears.

"Don't do everything Gambol says if it's not morally right. Don't risk other people's live's or money because of me. There's no garauntee that they'll let me go even if you do everything they ask. And I could never live with myself if someone else got hurt because of me."

"But Hailey, you're my daughter. I can't just sit back and do nothing." Gordon shouted in desparation.

"Dad, remember the last time we had this conversation. Things didn't really turn out that well. So please, just do this, for me. Please." Hailey asked softly. Gambol went to pull the phone away, this is not how he had wanted the conversation to go. "I love you daddy, and I forgive you for everything. Mom too. Tell Jamie and Jimmy that I love them more than anything. And if you see Jay, I love him too." Hailey felt tears coming to her eyes, but quickly blinked them away. Gambol pulled the phone away from Hailey angrily. She didn't even getto hear her father say he loved her too.

"I'll be contacting you soon. If I were you I wouldn't listen to your daughter." Gambol then hung up and turned towards Hailey. "You bitch!" He yelled. "What the fuck were you thinking, huh? Don't be fucking noble, it won't save you!"

"Neither will doing everything you say, will it?" Hailey shot back. "I'm done being the victim, I'm done being used as leverage okay? So fuck you. Fuck all of you! You can try and break me, go ahead! You can try to kill me, hell, you can go ahead and actually kill me. But I swear to you, I will never beg for my life again! I will not stoop to you people! I will never, ever give you that sick satisfaction of seeing me weak again!" Gambol just stared at her in shock. This was not the Hailey Gordon that he knew. The Joker really had changed her.

Bruce's head shot up as the machine indicated that Hailey's voice had been found. He couldn't believe his luck. He quickly copied down the coordinates and put on his batman costume. Leaving a note for Alfred of Fox he jumped into the Tumbler and raced down the streets. He parked a couple of houses away and quickly got out of the vehicle. He had top remind himself to slow down so he wouldn't get caught. He just couldn't wait to save Hailey. Bruce realized that he should have waited until the cover of darkness, but he had to make sure that the mob wouldn't move Hailey while he was gone. So without another glance back he made his way towards the house. He found an unguarded back door and quickly picked the lock before silently slipping inside.

Most of the house was deserted so moving around was relatively easy. The hard part was finding Hailey, getting her, and getting out without anyone noticing. Bruce heard Hailey laugh, but it was strained, he could tell that she was in pain. Looking over his shoulder Bruce made his way towards the noise and paused outside a door with a light behind it and voices coming from inside.

"You said, you wouldn't beg, huh? I'll make you beg. I'm going to make you scream like you've never screamed before. You will bow down to me, and I _will_ break you!" Bruce heard Gambol scream. Obviously Hailey had pissed him off with something. Bruce heard the unmistakable sound of a whip harshly meeting flesh. It nearly broke his heart knowing that it was Hailey who was getting hit with it.

"I…I told you that you w…would never break me." He heard Hailey pant out. "And I for one don't break my promises!" She growled the last part. It startled Bruce to see just how much she sounded like the Joker. He heard the whip come down again and again, but Hailey either remained silent of laughed. For the first time Bruce actually feared for her sanity. Maybe everything had finally gotten to her and she couldn't handle it anymore.

Not wanting to waits another second Bruce burst through the door and immediately stunned two men, causing them to fall down, unconscious. Without batting an eye he move on to the next to guys. One tried to jump him from the back but he lashed out with his foot and tripped him before hitting him upside the head and knocking him out.

Hailey felt the pressure on her arms and legs leave as the guys who had been holding her down went to attack batman. Without even thinking about it Hailey got up and went to join the fight, completely ignoring the fact that she was bleeding. Gambol grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away while Batman was distracted, but Hailey fought back with everything she had. It had been a while since she had used her self-defense fighting and martial arts, but she still remembered them. Pivoting on her heel she brought he other leg up and nailed Gambol in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Using his distraction to her advantage she pulled her wrist free from his grasp. She grabbed the whip that had, moment ago, been used on her and smacked Gambol with it. He instantly fell to the ground and Hailey swiftly kicked him in the head. He slumped to the floor and started bleeding profusely, but Hailey couldn't have cared less.

She moved on to help Batman who was being ganged up on by six guys. Hailey cracked the whip across one of the men's back and he collapsed from the pain, with a swift kick to the head he was out like a light. Now that the guys saw that she was in the fight two charged at her. Hailey dropped the whip and resorted to hand fighting. One of the men ran at her, but she ducked out of the way and stuck her foot out, tripping him. She quickly turned her attention to the second guy who had drawn a gun. Hailey dropped to the floor and rolled out of his line of fire. She then leaped up and tackled him. The gun fell to the floor and Hailey lunged after it. She reached it just before one of the mob guys and quickly shot him twice in the leg. She didn't really want to kill him, but she didn't want him able to fight. Looking around she saw that Batman had taken out three guys, so there was only the guy she had tripped and one more to worry about. Batman was fighting one and Hailey saw the other trying to sneak up behind him. Realizing that the gun was out of shots she resorted to throwing the gun. Luckily it hit its mark and the man fell to the floor with a gash on his forehead. Batman dealt with the last man before turning to look at Hailey.

"Um, hi?" Hailey said awkwardly. She wasn't really sure how she was supposed to act in this situation.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked, worry clear in his voice.

Hailey had actually totally forgotten about her injuries, but now that he mentioned it they did really hurt. Suddenly she felt extremely light-headed. "Um, I-" Hailey paused and she had to fight to stay standing. "I think I'm loosing a lot of blood." She informed him. Before she could even register what was happening Batman had rushed to her side and picked her up. "This really isn't necessary." She informed him weakly.

"Nonsense, you've lost a ton of blood, and probably haven't eaten anything since you were captured." Batman responded. They soon arrived at the Bat-mobile and Batman helped Hailey into the passenger seat. He soon started the car and drove quickly away. While driving, Batman took out his phone and called Gordon. "Gordon, this is Batman. I have Hailey. Yes she's safe, a little beat up, but she should be fine. I'm sending you the coordinates of where I left the mob right now. I'm taking her back to my place. When we get the whole mob she'll be safe, but until then I think her location should be kept a secret. I'm sorry." Without even waiting for a response he hung up the phone.

"Wait, what do you mean your place? And are you just going to keep me there? You know that's not that much better than being a prisoner." Hailey snapped. She did not like the idea of being trapped in one place. Especially when that one place was not with the Joker. "And can I at least call Jay and let him know I'm alright?" he asked.

Batman shook his head. You're safety is all that matters right now. I can't let you leave my place. It's the safest place in this city. And if we tell the Joker he'll come looking for you and become even more obsessed with finding out who I am so he can find you I'm sorry but I can't risk that." He explained.

"You know, I don't approve of this!" Hailey snapped back. "Jay cares about me, whether you choose to believe it or not, and he's probably freaking out right now about me. He hardly sleeps normally, and now he's going to be sleeping even less and constantly looking for me, and beating himself up about it, thinking it's his fault."

"It is his fault!" Batman interrupted. Hailey looked at him shocked. "_He_ hired the snitch, _he_ left you alone that night, _he_ didn't get back in time to save you. It _is_ his fault."

"Don't you dare." Hailey responded in a low growl. "Don't you fucking dare, you filthy son of a bitch! It is _not_ his fault. Do you hear me? I bet you don't blame my dad of the Marty for having corrupt cops watching me and then having them paid off by the mob. You blame Gambol and the mob in general, right? And I agree with you. My dad didn't do anything wrong, it was _those_ men and the mob. Same goes for Jay. It was _not_ his fault, it was _Seth's_ fault and the fucking _mob's_ fault. Not. Jay's. Do I make myself clear? And if you ever say that again I'll fight you. And you may not be against killing people, but if you insult Jay in front of me again, I don't play by the same rules." Hailey was practically screaming by now, she was angry and frustrated.

Bruce really didn't know what to say. He had just been so angry that the mob had gotten Hailey again; he didn't want to admit that they were that smart. Plus the Joker was his enemy; it felt good to blame bad things on him. "I'm sorry." He finally said. "I don't agree with you, but I didn't mean to upset you. If it means that much to you I won't say things like that in front of you." Hailey nodded and turned to look out the window. In the middle of nowhere Batman pulled over and produced a blindfold. "I'm sorry but I can't have anyone know where I live, or who I am." He explained. Hailey would have resisted, but she was feeling really lightheaded and woozy from blood loss so instead she just nodded and let him put the blindfold on her. This was definitely not the way she had imagined her rescue.

A/N1: Hey guy, so sorry it's been forever but I've had writer's block, finals, family issues, and just a ton of crap going on in my life. But, here is the next chapter. I bet it wasn't what you expected huh? Well I hope you like it and please review, they mean the world to me.

A/N2: Don't forget to check out my new Joker story Thank You For The Venom. It's totally different than this story, but I still really like it.


	25. I want to sleep with Darren Criss

When Hailey woke up she was slightly disoriented. It took her a while to remember where she was; Batman's house…wherever that was. Groaning she stood up from the bed she had been on. She was incredibly stiff from her beating the previous day. Or at least she assumed it had been a day ago, she wasn't really sure how long she had been asleep for. She looked down at herself and realized that she had been cleaned up, her injuries bandaged, and her clothes changed. The first thought that came to her mind was that she felt a little violated, she doubted Batman had a maid or some other female change her. The second thought was why the hell Batman had girl clothes that fit her.

Hailey jumped when she heard a door open and close. She turned around ready to fight, only to realize that it was Batman. "You're awake." He said surprised.

"Um, yeah." Hailey replied awkwardly. "Am I not supposed to be?"

"It's just with your injuries I expected you to be out for another day, at least." He explained.

"Wait, so how long have I been out?" She asked him curiously.

"Two and a half days." Batman replied in his gruff voice. Hailey just nodded, so that meant that it was the 25th of July.

"I don't suppose you would go out and buy a birthday present for the Joker and then give it to him on the 31st would you?" Hailey asked, not really expecting him to say yes,

"Um, no I wouldn't." Batman replied, slightly confused.

"Is your real voice that gruff? Or is it just part of the disguise?" Hailey asked after a couple minutes of awkward silence.

"My real voice is not like this." Batman laughed.

"And why do you have girl clothes? You're not like secretly a cross dresser or anything right? Because that would totally ruin your image." Hailey asked. She knew these questions seemed random, but she was determined to figure out who Batman was, especially if she was going to be staying with him for a while.

"My alter ego is not a cross dresser, he just has x-girlfriends." He replied still laughing.

"Okay, just checking." Hailey responded smiling. There were a couple moments of awkward silence before Hailey's stomach growled.

"Would you like something to eat?" Batman asked. Hailey looked at him like he was crazy. Of course she wanted something to eat. Had he not just heard her stomach growl? "Right. Of course you do." He added.

"What time of day is it?" She asked.

"It's morning, around 10 O'clock. If you want I can have my butl-" Batman cut himself off. "I could make something for you." He amended. He didn't want Hailey having any clues as to who he was, at least not yet.

"I would be delighted if your butler could make something for me." Hailey replied cheekily. "I really can't see you cooking in that outfit." She smirked. "I don't suppose he could make like…everything could he?" She inquired, remembering the first time that Jay had cooked for her.

"I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem." Batman replied, giving up on trying to convince her that he didn't have a butler. "I'll be back down when your food is ready." He told her.

"So I'm, correct in assuming that I can't leave this area?" She asked.

"Yeah sorry, this is the only safe place that doesn't have any clues as to who I am." He really was sorry. He wished he could let her stay in his pent house, with all the finest things; but that just wasn't possible right now. "I'll bring some more stuff down to make it more comfortable." He added before heading up the elevator thing.

Hailey watched as he left thinking about what he had just said: "doesn't have any clues as to who I am". "We'll see about that." Hailey said to herself. 'If I'm going to be stuck down here for the foreseeable future I'm going to learn who Batman is.' She decided. She wandered around until she found a desk and started pulling out random drawers. In the first drawer she found paper and pencils. She took out a piece of paper and a pencil and began to make a list of things batman would need to be batman. This way she could make a list of the men with the resources to be batman and go on from there. "Number one," Hailey said to herself. "Money. Number two, space; three alter ego that throws suspicion off." Hailey continued the list until she heard the lift coming down. She put the list and pencil back in the drawer. She had a feeling that batman would not like that she was trying to find out his true identity. She walked back to where she had just been and was greeted with the sight of many plates pilled high with food. Her stomach growled loudly in anticipation, but she was too hungry to be embarrassed.

Without even giving batman a second thought she started eating everything in sight. She hadn't eaten at all during her captivity and she had been asleep for almost three days, she was starving. She ate in silence and batman just stood there and watched her. He was so happy she was ok, but he still didn't know her mental state, she could just be hiding behind the random questions. How much did the Joker change her? And how much did the mob?

Once she was finished eating batman sat down next to her. "Hailey, I need to ask you some question." He said reluctantly. He hated doing this, but it was necessary.

"Shoot." Hailey replied, frankly she had been expecting this.

"What did they do to you?" he asked. Even in his batman voice Hailey could tell he cared.

"They tried to hit on me, but then I scared then off and none of then wanted to talk to me anymore. I started singing out of boredom and they got mad and hit me. Then Gambol came in and yelled at them. I talked to my dad on the phone and pretty much told him not to do anything stupid. Gambol got pissed at me and said he was going to make me beg for my life. I told his I would never stoop to his level again, so he got even more pissed and started hitting me. Then you came in and the rest is history." Batman was taken aback at how casually she had just relayed all of this.

"Um, ok. Did you hear anything important? Any future plans?" He asked after a while.

Hailey couldn't help but laugh at how taken aback Batman had been when she answered his question. "Sorry, I didn't hear anything important. Just them rambling about stupid stuff. Like I said, they didn't really talk that much." Hailey replied.

"Do you know why they didn't torment you as much this time?" Batman asked.

"Like I said, I scared them off." Hailey replied shortly. Batman gave her a look urging her to continue. "Ok I told them that they were a pain in the ass then I listed everything they've ever done to me. Then I told Gambol I wanted to kill Lee, then I called Gambol gay. He beat me up I passed out. I woke up and asked if they were actually going to kill me this time and one of the guys said he hoped they did. Supposedly he thought I was annoying. I told him I was insulted because that insinuates that I'm not attractive, and I said I was cleaner than the whores they buy. I also said I hoped they didn't kill me cause I never got to sleep with Jay." Batman couldn't help the shudder that came over him when he thought of that…that monster sleeping with Hailey. A fact that did not go unnoticed by Hailey. "Oh grow up! It's sex, it's a normal thing. How do you think you were born?" Hailey rolled her eyes.

"It's not the act that I don't like, it's who it's with." Batman replied, unable to control himself.

"Would you prefer for me to say I wanted to have sex with someone else?" Hailey inquired. Inside her mind the wheels were turning. Maybe she could figure out a clue as to who Batman was. "For example, I want to sleep with Darren Criss and have his babies. Is that better for you?" Batman just looked at her like she was crazy. 'Ok, so Batman is not Darren Criss, good to know' she thought to herself. "Ok what about Andrew Stone?" no reaction. "Jason Richmond?" Still nothing but a strange glance from Batman. "William Style?" Hailey let out a frustrated sigh, he wasn't reacting to any of these names, which meant that he could a) be a really good actor, or b) not be any of the above. "Are you like my mother and want to be get with Bruce Wayne?" Hailey asked, arching an eyebrow. And there! Just for a split second, but Hailey had seen it. A look of complete shock on Batman's, or should she say Bruce's face. Acting like nothing had happened Hailey continued with her story. She didn't want to say anything until she was completely sure. "Where was I? Oh yes sex with Jay, anyway so I seduced one of the guys and then kicked him in the balls. Then later I started singing and I creeped them out and they told me to stop, but I told them that they never stopped when I asked them to. Then they started beating me up but Gambol came in and yelled at them. I was lead to a dark room and I talked to my dad. I told him that I was alright and to not do anything Gambol says if it's morally wrong. Don't risk other people lives. I told him that I forgive him and my mom for everything and that I love them. I asked him to tell Jamie and Jimmy I love them too and Jay if he saw him."

"Wait, love?" Batman interrupted. He knew she had feelings for the Joker, but love? Really?

"Yes love. Is that such a difficult concept for you?" Hailey snapped. She was so sick of people judging her whenever she talked about the Joker nicely. "Anyway, getting back to the point here. Gambol got mad at me and told me not to be noble. That it wouldn't help me. I told him that neither would doing everything he said. He gat mad, beat me up, and then you came in." Hailey took a deep breath, she had said all of that in one go, "Anything else?"

"Um no. I think that covers it all." He replied.

"So have you told my dad that I'm ok? I can't really remember much from before I passed out." Hailey asked.

"Yes, I told your father you were alright." Batman replied. After a few moment of neither of them saying anything Batman spoke up again. "Well, I should probably get to my real job. It would look suspicious if I wasn't there for a while. Especially after I skipped out on that meet-" he stopped himself there. He didn't want to give her any clues as to who he was. "Well I should go." With that he left.

Hailey smiled to herself. She was almost positive that Batman was Bruce, she just needed to double check. Going back to the list she had made she ran through every item and made sure they added up. "Of course! Right after Bruce came back from "the dead" Batman showed up. Then Bruce's mansion burned down, that can't be coincidence! Wandering around little more Hailey found a computer. She tuned it on, but a password came up. "Damn!" she swore to herself. "Ok, what could it be, what could it be?" She tried Bruce Wayne, but nothing happened. Then Batman, and still nothing. Out of frustration she typed in her name.

"Password accepted" appeared on the screen and Hailey stared at it in shock. The password to Batman's computer was her? "That's just a little creepy." She told herself. "A little less creepy if Batman really is Bruce, but creepy none-the-less."

Hailey opened up Safari and googled Wayne meetings. Sure enough Bruce had interrupted a meeting and ran off somewhere the day she was rescued. "Well, I guess it's slightly less creepy." Hailey exited out of the browser. "Well now what do I do?" She asked herself.

A/N1: Hey guys I'm so sorry it's taken me FOREVER to get this chapter out. But I was in Germany for a month and then had to catch up with school had boy issues, and a bunch of other stuff that you probably don't really care about. If you do, for some reason, just message me.

A/N2: Ok so this isn't a super long chapter but I'm going to try to post another one soon, like within the week. So please forgive me.

A/N3: Don't forget to check out my new story Thank You For The Venom. I'll try to update that today as well. If you have any suggestions as for what I should post next or what to write about just let me know.


	26. Don't Mess With My Girl

Joker was pissed. It had been four days and he still had no idea where Hailey was, and he couldn't find Batman to ask him if he had any ideas. Normally he would just go and kill some people, but he made that stupid deal with Batsy, and if he wanted to be able to look for Hailey without worrying about getting caught he had to play nice. But right after he found her he was going to go on a rampage! He was currently pouring over maps of the city and making a plan to hit all of the hideouts for the mob. That way there was no possibility of him missing Hailey. Unless they moved her out of the city…or if she were already dead. No! No she couldn't be dead, she just couldn't. "Jesus get a grip!" Joker yelled at himself. "She is not dead, there would have been some news about it if she had been killed." He told himself.

Just then he heard a knock at his office door. Growling he looked up from his work. "What?" He snapped, he was not in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

"Um, boss it's me, Doc." Doc said from the other side of the door, he still hadn't entered. He didn't want to take any chances getting shot or stabbed.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting me." Joker replied. "Get your ass in here, I feel ridiculous talking to you from behind a stupid door." He snapped again. Doc wasted no time in following orders. Joker had been in a bad mood ever since Hailey got taken, which was understandable, but still down right terrifying. "So, what's the big news?" Joker asked, but now he just sounded tired. It was now that Doc realized his paint was wearing off and he could see dark circles under his boss's eyes. And those circles had nothing to do with the paint.

"We have some good news." Doc started.

"Did you find Hailey?" Joker jumped up. He knew it was unlikely, but he couldn't help but hope it was true.

"No, sorry boss." Doc shook his head sadly. "But we did find someone else you wanted to see."

"Lee," Joker growled. Doc nodded his head.

"He's downstairs, we got him all tied up waiting for you." Doc wasn't normally a violent man, but he was looking forward to Joker messing with Lee. That son-of-a-bitch deserves whatever Joker does to him, and much, much more.

"Move." Joker told him as he stalked out of the room. Doc followed behind him, almost feeling sorry for Lee. But he could never feel sorry for him, so he was just going to enjoy watching him suffer. Joker was shivering with anticipation; he had been waiting for this moment for some time now. Not only does he get to kill someone, finally bring some chaos back into his life, but he also gets to kill Lee. That slimy son-of-a-bitch who is responsible for Hailey being in danger again. As Joker entered the room Lee was being held everyone fell silent. Joker stopped for a moment and then calmly walked over to Lee.

"Lee, Lee, Lee ,Leeeeeeeeeee." Joker sang. "I haven't seen you in a while since you skipped out on us. Did you miss meeeeee?" He giggled at the end. Lee just looked up at him with scares eyes. Obviously he had never thought he would get caught. "Noooooo?" Joker asked laughing again. "Well you know what? I missed you." He smiled showing his yellow teeth. "Phil!" He snapped turning to look at his guys.

"Yeah boss?" Phil asked.

"Go get the camera, three screw drivers; all different sizes, my favorite set of knives, tweezers, a couple of guns, a fork, and boil some water. Oh and a rope! Get a rope too." He smiled, he was going to enjoy this. "Now we wait." He said simply as he sat down next to Lee.

"Look man, I didn't mean to-" Lee started but Joker cut him off with a slap to the face.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me." He growled out. "The two things I hate the most are liars and traitors. Looks like you fit both if those criteria, so I'd shut your mouth if I were you. Hm?" Lee fell silent. He knew there was no way he was getting out of this.

'It's that bitches fault." Lee thought to himself. 'Stupid slut, bitch hoe fucker-' his silent rant was cut short when Phil returned with all of the supplies.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Phil go grab some makeup for our doll here." Joker said,

"Your makeup boss, or actual makeup?" Phil asked. You could never really be sure with the Joker.

"Good question, you're a smart man. Both." Joker replied. He turned back to Lee. "We've got to make you look pretty, you're gonna be on the six O'clock news."

Lee went pale and Joker laughed. "What? You don't want to be on TV? I understand, it's hard to live with the fame. Lucky for you, you won't be alive to have to deal with it." Joker finished darkly. Phil returned soon with the makeup. Joker smiled evilly at Lee. It only took Joker about five minutes to have covered Lee's face completely white, smeared his lips with red paint, and instead of his usual black eyes, he humiliated Lee by putting on girls makeup. Joker leaned back and smiled at his work. "Now you're ready for the camera. Smile!" He said as he picked up the camera and pressed the record button.

"Hello Gotham! Miss me? Well lucky you I'm back. Now I know you're all wondering why I'm back, well I'll introduce you to our guest of honor, Lee!" Joker swung the camera back to focus on Lee. "He's pretty isn't he? Well he won't look so pretty after I'm done with him. No, no, no. You see, Lee here's been a bad boy. He worked for the mob, and is the reason that Miss Gordon is currently in the hands of the mob." Joker growled and his eyes darkened. "So I thought that I should teach everyone a lesson. Do. Not. Mess. With. My. Girl. Now I know you're all just dying to find out what happens when you betray me and get caught, well I'll show you." Joker placed down the camera and grabbed one of his knives. "First I carve everything on him that the mob carved on Hailey." Joker positioned the camera so that it would capture everything. Lee's screams could be heard all the way in the basement, but the Joker just laughed and continued carving into his skin. Finally the job was done and Joker zoomed in on his work. "I have to say, I think 'slut' is a little messy, but he was squirming around so much, it was kind of hard to keep going. But I got the job done." He cackled and smiled at the camera.

"Oh, God," Lee whimpered, looking down to see his stomach completely carved up.

"Oh, we're not done yet." Joker said with glee. "We're just getting started."

Hailey waited for Batman, well Bruce to get back. She couldn't wait until he got down here so she could freak him out by knowing you he really was. Plus, if she already knew then he wouldn't have to keep her down here…hopefully. She had heard that his place was really nice; it would be nice to live there. Soon she heard footsteps descending and smiled to herself. Sure enough Bruce appeared dressed as Batman and made his way towards her.

"I really hope you have food with you." Hailey said. "Because I'm really hungry."

"As a matter of fact I do." Bruce replied handing her a plate of pasta.

"Oh my God, this smells divine, I think I'm in love with your butler." Hailey joked as she started to eat.

"How are you feeling today Miss Gordon?" Bruce asked. Hailey couldn't help but snort at the formality. She knew it was Bruce, so it was kind of weird to hear him call her 'Miss Gordon'.

"I'm alright, but how about we become less formal. You can call me Hailey. And Batman sounds so…so superheroish, I think I prefer Bruce." Hailey smirked as Bruce choked on the water he had been drinking.

"I…I'm…um sorry who?" He tried to recover.

"Oh Bruce, don't try to deny it. I know it's you, I made a list and everything. I even checked and you skipped out on a meeting the other day. Ironically it was the day that Batman saved me. So ergo you are Bruce Wayne, the millionaire playboy. It actually makes perfect sense. First of all Batman appeared shortly after you came back from the dead, your greatest fear is bats, you have a ton of money you can spend on all of your gadgets, everyone thinks you're kind of dumb, if you're tired during a meeting everyone just assumes you were out partying, not saving the city. I don't understand how other people couldn't have figured it out. It kind of makes me question the intelligence of the police station. I mean they've been trying to figure this out for a while now, and still nothing." Hailey finished her explanation and smiled.

"I-" Bruce tried to defend himself and then shrugged in defeat. "Alright you caught me." he admitted. "But no one else can know!" He added urgently.

"Don't worry Bruce, just because I love the Joker doesn't mean I'm going to betray the trust of my friends. I don't approve of what he does and I don't support it in any way. So your secret is safe with me." Hailey smiled reassuringly.

"Well, I suppose since you already know who I am, you can leave the cave." Bruce told her.

"Yes!" Hailey jumped up exited. "I've heard that your place is awesome!" she said in explanation of her excitement. Bruce just laughed and helped her upstairs. Bruce led her from the cave back to his Penthouse, as soon as they were outside Hailey stopped and smiled. "At last, FREEDOM!" She shouted happily. Bruce wanted to shush her, he knew they shouldn't be this loud, but he didn't have the heart.

"Alright, welcome to my humble abode." He told her when they entered his place.

"You really need to get yourself a women, this place is too big for just one person!" Hailey told him. "Oh, well and your butler, but still it's gotta get lonely."

Bruce shrugged, he did feel that way sometimes, but he liked the freedom too, especially since he was Batman, it would be hard to keep that secret with someone living with him. "So what time is it anyway?" Hailey asked looking around, she knew it was sometime in the evening.

"Just after six I think." Bruce replied.

"Ooo! We can watch the news! I have no idea what's happened in the past week." Hailey said. "Where's your TV?"

"Um, which one?" Bruce asked.

"The closest one. Duh." Hailey replied rolling her eyes.

"That way," Bruce pointed. He was still processing everything that had just happened. Someone else finally knew who he was…and she didn't care. It didn't bother her at all. She also didn't care that he was always trying to catch her lover; she didn't hold that against him at all. He had the girl he loved in his house, and she knew his biggest secret. The only problem was that she didn't love him back. But he could live with just being friends. Even that was enough for him as long as she was safe.

Hailey turned on the TV and waited for the news to come on. "So, how did you find me anyway?" She asked Bruce.

"I used cell phones as a sort of radar and programmed your voice. So if you talked within range of a cell phone that was on we could lock onto it and find you." He explained. Hailey let out a low whistle.

"Damn, you _are_ loaded." She laughed. "Well I'm glad someone found me, the mob's not so nice." Bruce was about to speak up when Hailey shushed him. "The news is on!" She explained.

"This just in, a robber caught stealing from his mother. Police say-" the reporter stopped talking as someone spoke into her head set. Her face turned pale and she swallowed nervously. "We have just received a tape from the Joker. This tape contains disturbing images. Small children should not be in the room." Her voice was faint and scared. Hailey looked over at Bruce wondering if he knew anything about this. He shrugged at her and turned back to the TV. He was worried about what was in the video and how it would affect Hailey.

They watched in silence as the Joker carved the words into Lee. "I can't believe he remembered every word." Hailey said. "That's kind of sweet in a messed up way." Bruce refrained from commenting that the Joker was messed up.

"Now comes the fun part." The Joker's voice sounded from the TV. "I've been waiting a long time to do this." He practically growled out. He picked up the rope and started whipping Lee brutally. Lee screamed out in pain, his voice soon going hoarse. "This is what you made Hailey go through." Joker told him. "And you tried tot ell me you didn't mean to?" He let out a terrifying laugh. "You knew exactly what was going to happen to her. You wanted it to happen. And now, you get to see it first hand. With some additional things thrown in by yours truly." He smiled evilly and Lee shrunk back.

Joker picked up a screwdriver and held it up to the camera. Its tip was sharpened to a point. "I'm going to enjoy this." Joker smirked before driving the screwdriver into Lee's side. A hoarse cry ripped through Lee's throat, but the Joker ignored it ad twisted the tool deeper into Lee's side. Blood was seeping from the wound, splattering Joker's gloves with blood, but he paid no attention to it. He repeated this motion multiple times before finally putting the screwdriver to one side. Joker stepped back and seemed to study his work. "I like it." He smiled.

"Please, please just kill me." Lee begged from his chair.

"Oh, I will don't worry. Just not yet." Joker replied laughing. He picked up a gun and stepped back a few paces. "This might hurt just a little bit." Joker warned him before pulling the trigger three times. One bullet flew into his left arm, one into his right, and the third into his hip. Lee didn't even have the energy left to scream and just whimpered, tears streaming down his face, causing the make-up to smear. Joker walked over to him and pretended to shush him, patting his face before slapping him sharply. Joker placed the gun back down and picked up the tweezers. He walked over to Lee smiling wickedly. He then unceremoniously plunged the tweezers into the bullet holes, searching for the bullet none too gently. After a few minutes he succeeded in pulling out the first bullet. He repeated the procedure with the remaining two bullets.

Bruce felt sick watching this. Sure Lee deserved to be punished, but in the normal ways. Like prison or the death sentence. Not like this. This was just wrong. He looked over to Hailey to see how she was taking this. To his great surprise she didn't seem to be uncomfortable. She almost looked…smug?

Hailey was secretly very happy with what was happening to Lee. In her opinion he got what he deserved. And it also proved to he just how much Jay cared about her. He really wanted to make him suffer. This wasn't just about chaos; this was about revenge. The video went on for a couple more minutes before Joker stopped. Lee was completely covered in blood. He had been burned by the water and his skin was already peeling. "Well," the Joker said. "I think that Lee here isn't going to last much longer." He walked over to him and shook him awake. He had passed out. "But before we say goodbye there's one more thing I need to do." The Joker pulled out his favorite knife and held it to Lee's cheek. "You looked scared Lee. Is it the scars? Well maybe they won't bother you as much when you have a matching pair. Let's put a smile on that face." He growled out before slicing the knife through Lee's cheeks. Blood spurted everywhere and Lee collapsed against the chair, making quiet hurt noises from the back of his throat. Joker pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest. He turned towards the camera, covered in blood. "Don't. Mess. With. My. Girl." The camera shut off and the news reporters came back on.

There was a moment of silence where nobody knew what to say. "Please be reminded that this man is extremely dangerous. If you see him run as fast as you can and call the police." The women finally said. Bruce reached for the remote and turned off the TV.

"Bruce," Hailey spoke up. "You have to let me go back to him."

"No, Hailey I can't do that. Don't you see he's a psycho?" Bruce replied. He didn't want Hailey to leave. He didn't want her anywhere near that…that thing!.

"Bruce, listen to me. Sooner or later he's going to find out that you saved me, and that you didn't tell him you saved me. He's going to be pissed, extremely pissed. Before now finding out who you are has just been a game to him, something to do to mess with you. But if he finds out that I'm with you." Hailey paused. "He will spend every waking moment trying to figure out who you are. And he will figure it out. He's smart." Hailey looked up at Bruce with tears in her eyes. "You've been a really good friend to me, and I don't want to see you hurt. This town needs you; I need you. And if the Joker finds you with me he won't hesitate to kill you."

"He's tried before." Bruce responded gruffly.

"True, but he'll be filled with rage. You won't be able to beat him. You play fair, Bruce. And he doesn't."

"But I don't want you to go." Bruce said softly. "You and Alfred are all I have left." Hailey felt her heart breaking in her chest. Bruce was normally so strong. Seeing him like this, so vulnerable was surreal. Hailey did the only thing she could think of and hugged him. They ended up falling asleep together on the couch. Hailey dreamed that she was with Jay, and Bruce dreamed that he was with Rachel.

A/N1: I'm so so so so sorry I haven't written in a while. My life's pretty much been shit since the end of summer. So I tried to make this chapter a bit longer so hopefully you can forgive me.

A/N2: Kind of random but I felt so bad for Bruce at the end of this chapter. I think I'm going to go write a Bruce story now. What do you think? Ok, so I hope you liked this chapter, and don't forget to check out my other story, Thank You for the Venom!


	27. With Love

When Hailey woke up she felt a light weight across her chest. Looking over she saw that Bruce was spooning her. The events of last night filled her mind and she shook her head, trying to make the images go away. She felt so bad for Bruce, he obviously really liked her, but she was in love with Jay. And she couldn't see that changing anytime soon. The only reason she might stop is if he didn't love her back, but as seen by the news last night, obviously he did.

Doing her best not to wake Bruce, Hailey slid out of his embrace and stood up. She shook the stiffness out of her joints before starting to wander around. She hadn't gotten much of a tour last night, ad after being kept in the Bat Cave, she just wanted to wander around a little bit. After about an hour of aimlessly moving from room to room Hailey found herself in the kitchen. There bent over the stove was Alfred. Hailey smiled and walked over to him.

"You are an amazing cook." She spoke up smiling. Alfred looked up and returned the smile.

"Miss Gordon, I presume you have found out Master Wayne's secret then?" He inquired, returning to his cooking.

"Yeah, I was really bored." Hailey laughed.

"Well I'm glad that Master Wayne has someone else to share his secret with." Alfred responded. "Here we are Miss, a nice hot breakfast for you." He placed a plate of fresh pancakes and bacon in front of her. There were also bowls filled with fruit, cereal, and yogurt.

"Thank you Alfred, I meant what I said, you're an amazing cook." With that said she tucked in and began eating. A few minutes later Bruce rushed into the room, looking flushed. He was dressed in a T-shirt and boxers, what he wore underneath his Batman suit.

"Alfred! Where's Hailey? I woke up and she wa-" Bruce stopped short once he saw Hailey sitting at the table with a piece of watermelon halfway in her mouth. She had been mid bite when he ran in. He walked over to her and crushed her in a hug. "Don't you ever do that to me again! Ok? He asked her. "I thought you had left, or that you had been taken again. You're supposed to be safe here. I promised you, you would be safe here. I thought I had broken my promise already." He finished softly.

Hailey didn't know how to respond. Firstly, Bruce was obviously really worried about her and really emotional. She didn't know how to deal with that. And secondly, why hadn't she left? This would have been the perfect opportunity for that. Now, Bruce was probably going to watch her at every waking moment. Or if he weren't there to watch her, he would tell Alfred to look out for her.

Hailey didn't like this at all. He was going to become way too over-protective! Even though she was in this amazing Pent House, didn't mean she felt free. In fact, with all of these restrictions she felt rather trapped. Hailey tried to keep these thoughts hidden and kept her face a mask of normality. It wouldn't do to have Bruce worrying about her even more. She sat back down and continued eating. "Do you want some?" She motioned to the array of food in front of her. I could never finish all of this, and it'd be a shame for it to go to waste."

"You praise my cooking too highly Miss Gordon." Alfred replied.

"Nonsense, you're the second best cook I know." Hailey replied

"Oh, and who's the first?" Bruce inquired. "I might have to take lessons from him, my cooking skills are extremely limited." He joked.

"Um, I don't know if that'd be the best idea." Hailey replied nervously.

"Why not?" Bruce asked her, oblivious to the reason. Hailey looked at him and then he realized. "Oh, yeah." He said awkwardly. "Well, I think I'll take you up on your offer then." He said referring to her earlier question regarding the food. Hailey smiled at him and the awkward moment was almost forgotten between them.

The Joker was restless, yes he had killed Lee, and it had been great. But that was a day ago, and he was still no closer to finding Hailey. He had been so focused on bloodlust that he hadn't even thought to question Lee, and now it was too late. "I was such a fucking idiot!" He screamed at himself. "I let my feeling get in the way of common sense!" He had been yelling at himself for hours now, not knowing what else to do. All of his men were wisely staying out of his way, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his wrath. The Joker stopped pacing hos room and his eyes fell on a pile of clothes. They were Hailey's. "She better as hell be ok." The Joker growled to himself. "Or I swear to fucking God." Once again he made his way to his study and poured over the maps of the city, trying to see if there was some trend for where the mob kept their victims. Anything at all that would get him closer to Hailey.

After a couple more hours there came a knock at his door. "What?" he snapped, not caring who was behind the door. Unless it was Hailey, but he wasn't even going to bother getting his hopes up.

Doc didn't even reply as he opened the door and walked in. "I brought you some food, boss." He said placing a steaming plate on a table.

"I don't want to eat, I want to find Hailey!" The Joker screamed. Doc didn't even flinch, he was used to this kind of behavior from his boss.

"I know, but how are you going to find her of you have no energy?" Doc questioned. "Look boss, I know you're going to find her. You always do. So this time it's taking a bit longer, but she's a tough girl, she'll be alright. Trust me."

"Fine." The Joke said. "What is this anyway?" He asked pointing to the plate.

"It's German food." Doc replied. "Käse spätzle and wiener schnitzel."

"What the hell is that?" Joker asked Doc.

"Really small dumplings that are more like noodles that are then fries with a white cheese. And veal pounded really thin, breaded, and fried in oil."

"Why not a burger?" The Joker asked half seriously.

"No ground beef." Doc replied. "Plus this is more fun to cook. Don't worry the guys got the shit stuff."

The Joker laughed, for the first time since Hailey was gone. "Good, couldn't have them becoming spoiled now." He picked up the plate and started eating. "It's actually not bad." Joker told Doc, which was the closest thing to a compliment he was going to give.

"Glad you like it boss." Doc then looked over at the maps, after a few seconds his eyes lit up. "Boss, I think I see a pattern."

Joker almost dropped his plate in his hurry to look at what Doc had found. "If you look here," Doc pointed, "here," he pointed again, "and here, it's the hideout closest to members of the mob's homes going in reverse alphabetical order." The Joker leaned in to get a closer look.

"Holy shit, you're right!" He shouted, hope filling his voice for the first time in a long time.

"Now, it's kind of a stretch, but it's the best shot we've got." Doc explained.

"We'll get her in a couple day." Joker said. He quickly shoveled down the rest of his food and bounded out the door. "Boys!" He yelled when he got downstairs. "Get up off you're asses, we've got a princess to find!" He didn't wait for any of them to reply, he knew they wouldn't keep him waiting. They valued their lives too much. While his men were scrambling to get into the meeting room, he grabbed the maps and other supplies.

Soon everyone was gathered in the room. "So, thanks to Doc here, we might know where Hailey is. Now normally I'm not one for plans, as you know, but we can't take any chances." With that he and all the guys sat down and figured out a foolproof plan of how to in, kill everyone, and get out with Hailey. For the first time since Hailey had gotten taken, he almost felt happy.

Hailey laughed at Bruce's joke. They had finished breakfast at least twenty minutes ago and had spent the time talking. Hailey had to admit, it was nice to be around someone who wasn't a criminal, no matter how much she loved Jay. "So, do you think I could maybe use your shower?" Hailey inquired. "I haven't had one in forever."

"Of course!" Bruce replied jolting up. "How inconsiderate of me, I should have asked you that when you first came here. Follow me." He held out his hand, and Hailey only hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it. Bruce led her through the Pent House and into his bedroom. "The bathroom in here is better." Bruce explained.

"Thanks." Hailey smiled.

"Ok, so there're towels in there already and a bunch of shampoo's, conditioners, soaps, and other stuff in there. I'll leave some clothes for you on the bed in here." Bruce explained. "Take as long as you need, we have tons of hot water."

"You might not see me for a while then." Hailey joked.

"Ok, I'll be down the hall if you need anything." Bruce told Hailey before leaving the room. As soon as Bruce left Hailey's smile fell from her face.

'I need to find a way to get out of here.' She thought to herself. Her eyes fell to the shower. 'But it would be nicer if I had a shower before I went back to Jay. After all this is a really nice shower.' The shower was made of marble tile, and was huge. It could also be turned into a six-foot tub. 'Ok, so I'll take a nice long soak and think about how to get out. Then I'll find my way back to Jay.' With that Hailey turned on the faucets to high and waited for the tub to fill up. Her eyes fell upon raspberry-vanilla scented bubble bath. Her eyes lit up and she added a generous amount to the tub. Once the tub was all filled up she stripped off her clothes and slid into the tub. As soon as her skin made contact with the water she sighed in pleasure. She let herself just soak for a couple of minutes before she actually started to wash herself.

It took a lot longer than she actually thought to get clean. She was covered in dirt and dried blood in some places. After thoroughly scrubbing herself she looked at all of the shampoos. There were so many to choose from. After minutes of consideration she chose an orange ginger shampoo and the twin conditioner. Soon Hailey left the tub and had a plan for how to get back to Jay. It would just take a while.

When Hailey was done she found a cute flower top and skinny jeans with flats lying on the bed. When she picked up the jeans a note fell out. Hailey picked it up.

Hailey-

I had to go to the office, since I've been gone for a while. I hope these clothes fit, if not there's a bunch of other outfits in the left dresser. I'll see you tonight. If you want to go out somewhere please take Alfred with you, and be careful. Don't let anyone recognize you. I don't want you to get hurt.

With love,

Bruce

Hailey put down the note and sighed. Why did he have to sign it "with love"? Now she sort of felt guilty. "Whatever," She said to herself. "I need to get back to Jay, to save everyone." She tried on the clothes and found that they fit her perfectly. She decided to continue her exploration of the Pent House. It was exactly as she had imagined it

- huge. Hailey spent the rest of the day wandering from room to room and watching TV. Alfred wouldn't let her near the phone, obviously Bruce had told him not to let her. He was smart. If she were able to use a phone she would call Jay, and that would probably be bad for Bruce, because then Jay would know that Batman had found her and not told him. "Yeah, he'd probably blow a lot of things up." Hailey mumbled to herself.

A couple of days past in the same fashion. Hailey would wake up, have breakfast with Bruce, Bruce would leave, Hailey would shower/bathe, Hailey would wander around and maybe talk to Alfred, Bruce would come home, and then they would eat dinner together. Finally it was time for Hailey to put her plan into action. After Bruce left one day Hailey walked up to Alfred.

"Hey Alfred, do you think we could go to a convenience store, like 7/11 or something? I need some stuff." Hailey asked.

"Of course Miss Gordon, but you'll need to wear a hat and sunglasses. Master Bruce's orders I'm afraid."

"Of course, no problem." Hailey responded. She had to make it look like she was going along with what Bruce wanted so Alfred wouldn't think she was going to run. "Just let me grab some stuff." Hailey quickly ran to Bruce's room and scooped up some change that he always kept on his dresser. She was going to need it for the pay phone. She then pulled on a random hat and sunglasses she found lying around.

"Ready Alfred?" Hailey asked the elderly butler.

"Of course, Miss Gordon." He replied. "This way please." He led her to the garage and they got into the Ferrari. "The 7/11 where you used to work has just be reopened and it's the closest, is that alright?' Alfred inquired.

"Yeah, that's fine. Whatever's easiest for you." In fact that was more than fine, it was perfect. She knew that store inside and out. They drove in silence for a few minutes before the pulled up to the store.

"I'll come in with you." Alfred told her.

"Sure, no problem." Hailey replied, she could work around that. She walked through the isles and picked up some pads and tampons then walked up to the register and paid for them. "Oh, Alfred I need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back." Hailey told the old man. He simply nodded his head and waited by the counter.

Hailey stepped through the doorway that led to the bathrooms. "I really hope they didn't remodel it since it got blown up." Luckily for her, it hadn't. The back door was still there. With a final glance behind her shoulder, she opened the back door and slipped out into the day. Not wanting to waste anytime Hailey started running away from the store. She wanted to get as far away as possible before Alfred realized that she was gone. After fifteen minutes Hailey slowed down and started looking for a pay phone. Within a couple blocks she had found one. Slipping into the booth quickly she out in some change and dialed Jay's cell number.

"Okay boys, this is it. Do exactly as I tell you. If you get caught, do not tell them anything. Because you may think that what they'll do to you is bad, but if you tell them anything, I will find out, and I will find you. And if you think what I did to Lee was bad, you have no idea what I'll do to you." All of the guys just nodded their head, knowing that he was being completely honest. "Alright let's go." Before they could get out the door Jay's phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey Jay, it's Hailey." The Joker almost dropped the phone.

A/N1: So once again sorry for the extremely late update. My parents have been riding my ass about college auditions and stuff, so I've had little or no time to write. Other shit's going on that I won't ramble about because I doubt you really care. If you want to know for whatever reason feel free to message me. Or just message me for no reason, that's cool too.

A/N2: So even though this chapter took me over a month to write I'm pretty happy with the result. I know you guys hate me for the cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist. I know I always say this but I'm going to try to post sooner. I think I might actually do it this time because I really want to write what happens next! Anyway feel free to leave a review, it's what I live for!


	28. Batsy Brucy and Vodka

"Holy shit, doll, where the hell are you? I'll come get you right now. Are you ok? I swear to God I'll kill those fuckers! And I mean it this time! You don't have to worry about Lee anymore. I took care of him." The Joker started to ramble.

"Jay," Hailey spoke softly.

"I'm never going to let you out of my sight again. I swear I'll kill anyone who so much as looks at you!" The Joker continued completely oblivious to the fact that Hailey had spoken.

"JAY!" Hailey finally just yelled. "However sweet I find your little ramblings can you come get me? I don't know how long I have before people come looking for me."

"Oh, right of course. Where are you?" The Joker asked.

"Um, on the corner of Harlow and 5th." Hailey replied.

"Ok princess, don't go anywhere I'll be right there." With that the Joker hung up the phone and turned to his guys. "Change of plans, we'll kill the mob later. I'm going to go pick up Hailey, anyone who wants to come with can come."

All of the guys ended up going with the Joker to find Hailey. It probably looked really strange, four large cars all driving in a row and pulling over by the same phone booth, but the people of Gotham where used to strange things happening, so they didn't really give it a second thought.

The Joker jumped out of his car and looked around. All he cold see was a women wearing a hat, sunglasses, skinny jeans, and a floral top. "Fuck! Where the hell is Hailey?" He cursed.

Hearing her name Hailey looked up. She had been trying to look normal so people wouldn't notice her. Once she saw Jay a smile appeared on her face. She quickly got up and walked up behind him, he had turned around looking for her. She slid her hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" She asked, her smile evident in her voice.

The Joker quickly spun around and crashed his lips onto Hailey's. Without her brain registering that she had done so, Hailey's arms wound themselves around Jay's neck and pulled him closer. She had missed this, even though they had only kissed twice. Hailey didn't know how long they stood there, but all she knew is that it wasn't long enough. When they pulled away Jay held her close and put their foreheads together. "Hi," Hailey smiled.

"Hi," Jay replied smiling.

"Well, if that's the kind of greeting I get maybe I'll get taken more often." Hailey joked.

"Don't even joke about that! It's not funny. Don't you ever do this to me again, do you hear? I meant what I said on the phone. I am not letting you out of my sight." The Joker told her, worry evident in his voice.

"Ok, ok, jeez, I was just trying to make a joke. You are the one and only Joker after all." Hailey told him.

"Well, c'mon all the guys came with me. You called just in time, we were about to go on a rescue mission." Jay told her.

"You knew where I was?" Hailey asked, worried that he had found out Bruce.

"We had a hunch." Joker replied. "Doc figured out a pattern to where the mob kept people." Hailey let out a sigh of relief. It did not go unnoticed by the Joker. "What was that for?" He asked her. Hailey cursed under her breath, she couldn't lie to him.

"Well, I kind of got rescued from the mob about a week ago." She said softly, trying to gauge his reaction.

"By Batsy?" Joker growled out.

"Um, yeah." Hailey wished she had just kept her bog mouth shut.

"And he didn't tell me? We had a deal!" The Joker screamed. Some people on the street turned their heads and saw the Joker. One women fainted, another screamed.

"We should leave now Jay." Hailey said tugging on his shirt. "I'll explain everything in the car, ok?" The Joker grudgingly let Hailey lead him to the car.

Once they were in the car and safely on their way the Joker turned to Hailey. "Ok, shoot."

"So Batman saved me, but I was hurt so I was knocked out for two and a half days. Then he took care of me, let me shower and stuff. And he never went out as Batman, at nights he always came back from work and made sure I was recovering. I think that's why he didn't tell you, because he was never out. He wanted to make sure I was ok before he left me." Hailey was totally lying. Bruce had told her the reason he didn't tell the Joker, but Jay didn't need to know that. By that time they were pulling up to the current hideout.

"I'm still pissed at him." Jay grumbled. "But I'm glad you're ok."

"So am I." Hailey told him. "And I still have time to get your birthday present!" She smiled. Jay rolled his eyes at her and got out of the car. "Get inside." He told her. The rest of the guys pulled up and filed out of the cars. Once everyone was inside Hailey practically got trampled.

"Hailey, thank God you're ok"

"We missed you so much!"

"Yeah, none of us can cook like you can!"

"We're so glad you're home M."

"Boss was going crazy!"

"We'll never leave you alone again!"

"Yeah, and we'll never higher a snitch again either!"

"Yeah!"

"Hear, hear!"

Hailey laughed as all the guys tried to hug her at once. This really was her home. "I'm glad I'm back too guys. I missed all of you too." Hailey replied to the group.

"Ok, ok, enough you guys." The Joker broke in, Immediately everyone stopped talking, even though Hailey was back, the Joker was still the Joker. "Doc, cook something, Hailey and I are going upstairs." He left no room for argument. Doc went to the kitchen, the other guys dispersed themselves around the hideout, and Hailey followed Jay upstairs.

"Sooooo," Hailey said once they reached the Joker's room.

"Are you alright doll?" Jay asked her.

"Actually, I'm fine." Hailed replied smiling. Jay gave her a look that obviously meant he didn't believe her. "No really. This time wasn't so bad. I just acted like you and it freaked the shit out of them. It was great!" Hailey continued. "First I woke up and heard them talking about me and how 'fun' of a prisoner I was. But then one said I wa a pain in the ass I spoke up and said that I resented that, and that they had been the ones who had a pain in the ass. Then I listed off all the things they had done to me over the years. Soon Gambol came in and I asked his if he knew where Lee was. He asked why and I told him that I wanted to kill him because the mother-fucking bitch sold me out. Then Gambol told me that he wasn't mother fucking but he could tell me who he would be fucking. Then I told Gambol that was gross and some things are meant to be kept a secret and I didn't need to know about his homosexual impulses." At that the Joker let out a laugh and Hailey joined in. After a moment she continued with her story. "Anyway so I woke up and asked them in they were actually going to kill me this time or just the usual stuff. One of the guards said he hoped they killed me. I told him I was insulted because that was insinuating that I wasn't attractive. Then things were boring for a while and none of the guys would talk to me, so I started singing. But that just freaked them out because apparently they're not Avenged Sevenfold fans. Then Gambol came back in and called my dad, he had me talk to him. But I told my dad not to do anything stupid like last time." Hailey looked over at the Joker and he just smiled at her. "So Gambol got pissed at me and yelled but I told him I was done being the victim and shit. Gambol took out a whip and told me he _would_ make me beg. But I just growled out something about keeping my promises. Then I either remained silent when he hit me or laughed. It actually works, the laughing thing. I totally see why you do it now. Anywho then Batman came, he found me using sonar from cell phones. So you'll probably want to have your cell turned off whenever I'm talking. So whenever I'm near you. But anyway, the rest is history and here I am." Hailey finally finished.

"I'm proud of you princess." Joker spoke up.

"Awe thanks." Hailey smiled. "It's really funny, Batman does not like you at all. I told him that I had hoped I wouldn't die because I had never gotten to sleep with you and he got this disgusted look on his face. It was great." Hailey smiled and looked up at the Joker, she had only told him that to see his reaction, and he didn't disappoint. His eyes were wide open in shock and his mouth was open just the slightest. It was probably one of the most adorable faces Hailey had ever seen. She couldn't help it, she started laughing.

As soon as she started laughing the Joker snapped out of his trance ad glared at her, she just stuck her tongue out at him and giggled. "You're lucky I like you, doll." The Joker told her, but he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He was just so happy that she was back.

"Well that's good, cause I like you too." Hailey replied.

Alfred glanced at his watch. How long does it take a person to go to the bathroom? After ten minutes Alfred walked over to where the bathrooms were. As soon as he saw the exit door he cursed, for probably only the second time in his life. "Master Wayne is not going to like this." He said to himself. He quickly walked out the door and got into the car. He spent over an hour looking for Hailey, but he eventually gave it up as a lost cause. He turned the car around and started driving home. On the way he pulled out his cell phone and called Bruce.

"Hello?" Bruce answered. Alfred never called him, so it must be something big.

"I'm sorry Master Wayne, but Miss Gordon is gone." He told his boss. There were a few moments of silence before Alfred heard a number of crashes through the receiver. Bruce was not taking the news well supposedly.

"How?" When Bruce finally spoke his voice sounded broken. Alfred hated that he had sort of caused this.

"We went out to get some items for Miss Gordon, and she said she needed the bathroom. So I waited while she went to the restroom in the back, but there was a door there that I didn't know about. And by the time I figured out that she wasn't there it was too late. I drove around for over an hour, but I couldn't find her. My guess is that she found a payphone and called him." Alfred didn't need to explain who 'he' was.

"Why? Why would she go back to him Alfred?" Bruce asked softly.

"I don't know sir. But maybe she really does care for him. And maybe she was trying to protect you. She knew that sooner or later news that the mob didn't have her would reach The Joker, and then he would become even more obsessed with finding out who you are. She's very noble that way." Alfred explained.

"Why does he take away everyone that I care about?" Bruce asked his oldest friend. Alfred didn't know how to reply to him. Bruce hadn't even been this upset when Rachelle died. "I think I'm just going to leave work early." He said. Before Alfred could reply Bruce hung up and the line went dead.

"Well, that could have been worse." Alfred told himself. Alfred drove home and made a strong pot of tea for himself before fixing a drink for when Master Wayne came home. Alfred had a feeling that he would be drinking a lot of them tonight.

Twenty minutes Bruce came home, he looked awful, he had obviously already had something to drink. He walked into the kitchen and took the drink Alfred offered him without saying a word. He quickly downed in, then he looked at the glass, as if he didn't believe that it was already empty. He grabbed the bottle of vodka and was about to pour another glass, but thought better of it and just took the entire bottle and left the kitchen. "Oh dear, this is going to be very bad indeed." Alfred told himself once Bruce was gone. "Well, I should go and make sure he doesn't do anything dumb." He then followed Bruce out into the living room. He was sitting on the couch and staring at the TV. It was off.

"We fell asleep on this couch together, Alfred." Bruce finally spoke up after a few minutes. "When I was asleep I dreamed she was Rachelle. Does that mean that she dreamed I was the Joker?" He asked before taking a large swig from the bottle.

"I don't know sir." Alfred replied. He assumed that was the case, but he wasn't sure that would be the best thing to tell Bruce.

Bruce just took another gulp from the bottle. He hadn't eaten much today and he had already drunk over half of the bottle, the alcohol was starting to affect him. "Maybe…maybe I was just trying to replace Rachelle. I mean Hailey sort of acted like she did. And they were the same height, she fit into Rachelle's clothes. Did you see her the other day? In the flowered top? That was one of Rachelle's favorite shirts." Bruce stopped talking and just took another drink from the bottle. "I should tell Gordon." Bruce said reaching for his phone. Alfred stopped him just before he reached it.

"Maybe when you're not drunk sir. We wouldn't want to give away your secret identity now would we?" Alfred tried to reason with him.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Nothing matters anymore." Bruce said, he just sounded defeated. "First my parents, then Rachelle, now Hailey." Bruce ended his sentence with yet another swig from the bottle, which was almost empty now.

"It does matter sir," Alfred told him. "Think about how many people you have saved since you came back from Gotham. And you've always kept fighting, never giving up. Please don't give up now sir. I believe in you, and the people of Gotham do too." By the time Alfred had finished Bruce was passed out. "Right, I'll get you a blanket."

A/N1: So, what do you guys think? Did I update fast enough for you? I wrote this really quickly, so sorry if there are little typos. This was a lot more fun than doing homework!

A/N2: So I felt really bad for Bruce at the end, he seemed really heart broken and I almost felt bad writing it. But, Hailey had to get back to Jay. I don't like it when they're not together! Anyway I liked the Joker in this chapter, he was so sweet with Hailey. Good boyfriend material besides being a mass murderer and such.

A/N3: So as per request from one of my friends Hailey and the Joker are going to "dance the jitter bug" if you will. And I was just wondering how in depth you guys wanted it. I don't really care, but I know some people do. So however many responses I get by the time I start writing the next chapter is what I'm going to go with. Feel free to leave a review, they make me happy!


	29. Joker's Birthday

Memo: ok so this chapter is going to have sex. If you're not ok with that…what have you been doing for the rest of this story? Also I'm not even going to try to come up with an excuse as to why it's taken me almost a year to update. I'm really sorry and I hope that you all don't hate my guts. Enjoy the long awaited chapter

Hailey spent the rest of the day just chilling with the guys; it was so nice to be home. The only thing that was slightly annoying was that Jay hadn't been kidding when he told her he wasn't letting her out of his sight. He was always with her. It's not as if she didn't like having him around, after all she did love him, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. However, one thing was on her mind. Tomorrow was the Joker's birthday, and she had no idea what to get him! What did guys like him like? Knives? Guns? Explosions? But he already had all of those things, and Hailey wanted her present to be special. Really, really special!

Doc came into the room and interrupted her thoughts. "Hey Hailey, what do you want for dinner?" He asked her.

"Oo! Could I cook? Pretty please?" As nice as it was to have someone cook for her, she missed cooking for the guys.

"Um, of you really want to." Doc replied.

"Yay! Thanks Ben!" Hailey jumped up and gave hi a kiss on the cheek. The Joker looked up from what he was doing and glowered at Doc. Doc just shrugged his shoulders and left, trying to explain to his boss that Hailey had kissed _him_ on the cheek was not a good idea. Better to just let it go.

He went and joined Hailey in he kitchen. It was nice to just sit down while she cooked, not in a sexist way of course, but just because it was normalcy, something this place had been lacking since Hailey got taken…again. This is how it had always been when she was here, and he didn't like the change in routine when she was gone. "So what are you cooking?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well, we have pork tenderloin so I'll cook that for us with oven roasted potatoes and a side salad, but that won't be enough for everyone so I'll probably make spaghetti and meatballs for everyone else." Hailey replied while she salted and peppered the meat. The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence while Hailey cooked. Soon the smell of roasted pork, potatoes, and meatballs was wafting through the house. "Dinner!" Hailey screamed. Doc jumped and fell out of the chair he had been in. Hailey looked up to see what the noise had been and started laughing. Doc just glared at her, but soon found himself laughing as well.

"Shut up," he told her chuckling. Hailey just smiled at him and made a plate for her and the Joker before leaving the kitchen. Things could get a little messy when the guys got their food; it was best to get out as soon as possible. She walked over to where the Joker was sitting in the other room and handed him his plate. He grunted in thanks, took the plate from her hands, and returned to looking over the papers in front of him.

Hailey ate her meal quietly and tried to think of what she should get Jay. Honestly it was killing her! He had done so much for her, a lot unintentionally, but still. Hailey nearly dropped the plate. She knew what she would give the Joker for his birthday. A smile graced her lips and she quickly finished the rest of her food before finding Doc.

"Doc," Hailey called him over. "I need to talk to you." He nodded and walked over to her. The Joker started to follow but Hailey shook her head. "It's about your present silly." She told him smiling.

"I told you I don't want a present," The Joker growled. He did not like having Hailey out of his sight.

"Well I want to give you one, and you have to do what I want because I keep on getting kidnapped." Hailey stuck her tongue out at him and pulled Doc away. Hailey wasn't dumb, she knew the Joker would follow them and listen to what they said, and she wasn't about to let him ruin the surprise. She took out a piece of paper and a pencil and started writing.

_I know what to get Jay for his birthday._

_**I gathered as much, what is it?**_

_ Well, it's not so much a material good as…something else._

_**Hailey, I have no idea where you're going with this**_

___I need some clothes._

_**Don't you have clothes?**_

___I need sexy clothes, Ben._

_**Oh…OH! Oh my God you're going to….I can't even say it!**_

_ You don't have to say it idiot we're writing. But anyway I need someone to go out and get me some things tonight…but I don't really know what things I'll need._

Hailey gave up writing and started talking; Jay would have no idea what they were talking about now anyway. "I mean, it's not like I've ever done this before, I mean you know this way. And what do guys even like? Wait what does it matter what normal guys like? This is the Joker! What does _he_ like? I have no idea what I'm supposed to wear, or how much. I-"

"Hailey, don't worry, I got you covered girl. I'll get what you need tonight and help you tomorrow." Doc cut her off.

"Thanks Ben." Hailey smiled. "You're the best." She kissed him on the cheek again. "I should destroy this." She said picking up the piece of paper. She walked out the door and tried to make her way to a sink to destroy it, but the Joker caught her.

"What've you got there Doll?" He asked her trying to grab it.

"Oh, you know, Batman's secret identity." Hailey joked, laughing and she evaded the Joker.

"I think you should give it to me." Joker said, making another grab for it.

"Now where would be the fun in that?" She teased him. He tried for it again, and Hailey realized that if she didn't do something fast he would find it…and that would be awkward. So she did the rational thing and shoved the piece of paper in her mouth. The Joker's eyes widened as he realized he had been beaten and Hailey started laughing, but it ended up being some sort of muffled spasm because of the paper in her mouth. She spat the paper out into her hands and tore it up into tiny shreds. "You'll find out later." The Joker just glared at her but Hailey smiled sweetly at him, and damn it he just couldn't resist that look.

"It had better be damn good if you're going to be sneaky about it." He said, fighting back a smile.

"Oh, it'll be epic." Hailey promised him.

Bruce woke up with the worst hangover in his memory; it took him a while to remember why he was hung over and on the couch. When he remembered he felt like getting drunk all over again. _Maybe if I drink enough I'll suffer some memory loss_. Bruce thought to himself. But the bottle next to him was empty and his head hurt too much to really do anything, so he settled back down on the couch and just waited for Alfred.

He didn't have to wait long. Bruce had realized long ago that Alfred had this creepy ability to know when he was awake and be there within moments. "I brought you some aspirin, I thought you might need some." Alfred said, walking in with a glass of water and two pills.

Bruce took the pills and swallowed, "thank you Alfred." His butler simply nodded and took the glass. "I don't remember, did I tell Gordon?" Bruce asked.

"No sir, you were a bit inebriated, I felt it better that you should wait." Alfred explained. Bruce sighed heavily but reached for his phone none-the-less. He quickly dialed Gordon's number.

"Commissioner Gordon speaking,"

"It's Batman," Bruce said lowering his voice, "I've got some…unfortunate news." Even to Gordon, Batman sounded tired.

"What is it, what's happened?" Gordon hoped, he prayed with every fiber of his being that it wasn't about Hailey, but he knew in his heart that it was.

"She went back to the Joker." There was no point beating around the bush. "I know it's not the best news, but at least we know that he won't harm her." Batman tried to ease Gordon's pain. For all that he cared about Hailey, he couldn't imagine being in Gordon's position.

"Jesus Christ," Jim exhaled. "Thank you for telling me."

"I truly am sorry, I'll let you know if I find out anything else." Batman said, and he truly was sorry. He had promised to keep Hailey safe, how was he supposed to do that when she was living with criminals?

"Thank you." The line went dead and Bruce let his head drop.

"I don't remember this job being so hard, Alfred. I thought it was bad when Rachelle died, but this…this is somehow worse." For once Alfred didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything at all.

"Ben! I need you to come here." Hailey shouted through the door. She had on the "sexy clothes" but she had never worn them before so she wasn't sure if she was doing it right.

"Hailey, if your question is about what I think it is I don't want to see it!" He shouted back at her. "I don't know where you got the idea that I know about this kind of stuff but I don't! You're a girl, you'll do just fine." The Joker had gone out just for an hour. Even though he wanted to keep an eye on Hailey he needed to get out of the house and blow something up.

"Ben! He'll be back soon and I want everything to be perfect, and I don't know if my make up matched the outfit, and do you think I should be wearing the heels, or is that too much? I've never done this before and I'm freaking out and I would really appreciate some SUPPORT!" She screamed at him.

"God damn that girl," Ben mumbled under his breath. "Alright I'm coming up, but you owe me big time." When Ben opened the door he didn't believe that the girl...no woman standing in front of him was Hailey. She basically looked like Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge. She was wearing a very, very short silver…dress? with spaghetti straps. Ben knew that underneath that dress was a tight black lace corset. She had on black knee-highs that went up to her upper thigh, again Ben knew what she had on under...or well above that, but he wish he didn't, a black thong. To top it all off she has on back heels and long black gloves. Ben really wasn't sure how Hailey was able to stand in those things let alone walk around. Her red hair, which she a re-died once she got back, was in an up-do with part of it falling down her back in loose curls. Her lips were pained blood red, her make-up was smoky eye with black, grey, while, and just the smallest hint of dark blue. "You look beautiful," Ben told her, "A little bit slutty, but beautiful."

Hailey laughed and punched him on the arm. "Thanks Ben, you're sure though? I shouldn't change anything?"

"Just stop worrying." Ben reassured her. "Well, I'm going to go back downstairs now because if the Boss knew that I'd seen you like this he would kill me." Ben was only half joking.

"Ok, thanks again." Hailey smiled as Ben left the room. Ben got downstairs just in time. The Joker came through the doors looking happier than he had in a long time, and Ben knew he was only going to get happier.

"Hey boss." Ben greeted him smiling. "Happy birthday." The Joker just grunted in response.

"That just means I'm getting older." Ben laughed. "Where's Hailey?"

"Upstairs in your room, she's got your present all ready." Ben then realized that he really didn't want to be around for the…unwrapping of this certain gift. "Hey, um, I was wondering if I could take the guys out to a bar or something, we haven't gone out much lately."

"Sure," Joker responded, honestly he was too busy trying to think what Hailey could have gotten him to pay attention to what Ben was saying. He had heard something about the guys and a bar.

"Hey guys!" Ben called. "We're going out to a bar, this is not optional!"

Hailey had heard the Joker come in and was super nervous. What if this wasn't what the Joker wanted? He had never pressured her about sex before, so what if something had happened to him when he was younger? Oh God this was such a stupid idea, she should change, she should change and then…and then what? What would she do when he asked about his present? Oh God- her meltdown was cut short the by Joker opening the door.

Based by the look on his face Hailey had not in fact made a stupid decision, but actually a very good one. "Happy birthday, Jay." She told him, walking forward and planting a kiss on his lips. She sauntered over to the bed and sat down. "Ready to unwrap your present?" Hailey couldn't help the smirk that crossed her lips. If the Joker had been a cartoon his jaw would be on the floor.

The Joker seemed to snap out of it and walked towards her, "I think I'm going to enjoy this a great deal." He smirked and leaned in to kiss her. Hailey returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Jay growled into the kiss and pushed Hailey backwards so she was lying on the bed and he was looming over her. Hailey reached up and shoved his jacket off while Jay nipped at her neck playfully. Hailey worked on unbuttoning Jay's shirt while he unzipped her dress. Hailey lifted up her hips and shimmied out of the dress. When the Joker saw what was underneath his breath caught in his throat. "I officially love birthdays." He murmured as he leaned in to kiss Hailey.

It didn't take long for Jay to dispose of the corset and for Hailey to get Jay shirtless. Hailey started undoing Jay's belt, but his hands stopped her. "Are you uh, sure about this Doll?" He asked. Hailey could tell it was taking all of his self-control to stop and make sure. If Hailey had had any lingering thoughts about whether this was a good idea or not they vanished with that question. Jay cared about her, he cared enough to make sure this is something that she really wanted. Instead of answering his question Hailey looked him straight in the eyes and unclasped his belt. The Joker frantically kicked off his pants and leaned over Hailey. "Best. Girl. Ever." He said emphasizing each word with a kiss.

Hailey smiled up at him, "Best. Guy. Ever." She responded in kind. Hailey could feel Jay's arousal as he straddled her and she rolled her hips up, causing him to groan. Before she knew what was happening Jay had flipped her over and was pulling down her thong, Hailey returned the favor and tore off his boxers. Jay was already fully erect and pre cum was leaking from his tip. Hailey reached under the pillow and revealed a bottle of lube. Se squirted some onto her hands and rubbed them together to make sure it wasn't too cold before slowly applying it to Jay.

Hailey smirked as Jay groaned and rolled his hips, silently asking for more pressure. Hailey pulled her hands away and looked up at Jay. "I trust you." She whispered. That was the last confirmation he needed before he thrust into her. Hailey breathed out a moan as Jay filled her. This was the first time she had had consensual sex, and it made all the difference. To her surprise there was no pain, only pleasure. She felt Jay stop and realized she had closed her eyes. She opened them back up, looked at Jay, and rolled her hips, silently telling him to continue. He began to thrust into her again, this time harder, each thrust getting more and more intense. "Harder," Hailey moaned over and over again. She wrapped her legs around Jay's waist, trying to bring him closer to her, if that was even possible. Jay brought her in for a searing kiss as he thrust into her, rolling his hips to get even deeper that before. "Jay, I'm close." Hailey whispered. "Faster, faster, faster." She encouraged him. Jay obliged sped up each thrust until she was writhing beneath him. Suddenly Hailey clenched around him and screamed something that resembled his name. Jay wasn't far behind; he shot into her and muffled her screams with a kiss.

Jay rolled off of her and they laid next to each other on the bed while catching their breath. "That is the best damn present I've ever gotten." Jay sighed happily.

"It's the only present you've ever gotten." Hailey teased. "But I'm glad you liked it, I was really nervous." She admitted.

Jay looked at her like she was out of her mind. "You are one crazy girl." He laughed at her. Hailey frowned at him. "Have you seen yourself? Doll, you're gorgeous, any guy would be crazy not to want this." He smiled and kissed her cheek. "I mean it."

"Well, you know, Doc and the guys aren't going to be back for a while." She smirked.

"I love you," Jay growled before claiming her lips with a kiss.


	30. Pleasure, Grief, and Guilt

Memo: ok…so I have no excuse for this taking so long and I'm really really really really really sorry! Honestly I've been really into gay pairings recently so haven't really wanted to write this story, but now I'm in another Joker phase so hopefully this is good. Sorry again for the long wait! Also I was rereading the story and I noticed some mistakes that I'm too lazy to go back and fix, but just to clarify Lee is the one who snitched and Seth is one of the guys who works for the Joker. I mixed them up a couple times, so sorry about that!

Hailey wasn't really sure how many rounds they went that night, it was all kind of a huge pleasant blur. Eventually she and Jay had fallen asleep together and when Hailey woke up he was still there. His make-up, which he hadn't taken off the night before because of the rush, was smeared all over his face, the pillow, and probably Hailey. In fact most of it had smeared off to reveal Jay's face. Hailey loved it when he took his make-up off. She tolerated the fact that he was the Joker, but she loved Jay most, and she didn't get to see just him very often.

Rolling onto her side Hailey looked over to the clock, which read 10:00 am. Hailey wasn't sure how much sleep she had gotten but she felt fully rested and completely content. When she had been at Bruce's she had slept well, but it just hadn't felt right. But here now, with Jay next to her and his arm draped over he side, this was perfect. Of course she knew that it couldn't last forever. Soon he would go back out as the Joker and eventually he would get caught by the police, and even if he got away again, she knew one day his luck would run out. He wouldn't be able to escape or he would be killed, either by the police or someone else. She had no disillusions about then growing old together, but at this moment none of that mattered. Hailey debated on whether or not she should wake Jay up, but he looked so peaceful. So she silently slipped out of bed and went to take a shower. It was nowhere near as luxurious as Bruce's had been, but it felt better. Hailey had never really liked super fancy things. Sure she liked nice things, but Bruce's shower had been a bit over the top.

She had only been in the shower for a couple minutes when the curtains were drawn back revealed Jay. "You were gone when I woke up." He told her. "I wasn't done with you yet." He smirked at her and joined her in the shower.

"I'm glad to hear it." Hailey replied closing the distance between them with a kiss. Jay moved his head so that he was decorating her neck with little kisses, Hailey held back a moan when he nipped at her ear playfully. "Jay, the guys are back, they'll hear us." Hailey told him, silently cursing them for being here. She knew it was irrational, I mean they stayed here too, but at this moment she wanted to be alone with Jay again.

"Let them hear, then they'll all know who you belong to." Jay growled in here ear.

Hailey let out a small laugh at that. "I don't think there was any question about that." She replied. But she didn't fight it when he reclaimed her mouth with his, or when his hands wandered over her body, mapping out her curves as if he were trying to memorize every part of her. And she didn't fight it when his hands moved lower, or when he slowly pushed himself into her. Nor did she fight him the two times after that.

Bruce wasn't sure what his plan of action should be. Most of the mob was locked up and even with their level of corruption, no judge or jury was going to let them go free after what they had done to Hailey. When the Joker thinks something is bad, then it is really bad. There was the problem of Hailey not being there as a witness, but right after Hailey had gone back to the Joker a box of tapes had shown up outside the police station. They were the tapes that the Joker had mentioned to Bruce the night they made the deal. With this amount of evidence there was no way the mob would go free. And then there was the Joker problem… or lack there of. For the past few days he had done nothing. So there was nothing for Batman to do on that front. And sure he could chase down petty criminals, but Bruce didn't see the point. He had no will to fight any more. When Rachel had died Bruce had had someone to blame, someone to focus his rage on and go after. But now there was no one like that. The people to blame were already in police custody.

After a few days he had dragged himself to the office. There were only so many days you could claim to be sick before people got suspicious and with everything else that had happened, he did not need the world to find out his identity. It was almost easy going back to work. He hated pretending to be a playboy, but it was something normal, and he could use that in his life right now. He wasn't sure if he should be worried about Hailey telling the Joker who he was, but even though she had gone back to that madman, Bruce didn't think she would betray him like that. That didn't mean that he was going to stop looking for her, or stop fighting the Joker when he finally showed his face again. Bruce wasn't sure what was going to happen to Hailey if she stayed with the Joker for much longer. What he had seen and heard when he rescued her scared him more than he would like to admit. It was almost like seeing a mini-Joker, and losing Hailey to the Joker had been bad enough. But losing Hailey's mind to the Joker? He couldn't let that happen.

There was also the problem of Gordon, Bruce couldn't help but feel responsible. He had promised him that he would keep Hailey safe. He had kept Gordon from his daughter in belief that she would be safest that way, only now she was gone again. And as hard as that was for Bruce, he couldn't imagine what Gordon must be feeling. And he wouldn't blame the man if he hated him now. Bruce hadn't talked to the commissioner since he told him about Hailey, and he hadn't been out as Batman since then either, so he wasn't sure if Gordon had tried to reach him using the floodlight. Even if he had Bruce wasn't sure he could face him without completely breaking down from guilt and grief. And to add to his problems for the first time in his life things were awkward with Alfred. Alfred blamed himself for what happened with Hailey, and while Bruce didn't want to, he knew it wasn't his fault, but part of him blamed Alfred too. And as much as he denied it the Butler could tell, and that caused their relationship to be strained.

Work was boring as always but somehow he managed to get through the days. He honestly could not say what the company was doing right now. He tried to pay attention, but even when things were going well as Batman he had a hard time paying attention. And now that everything seemed to be falling apart, it was all he could do to keep his eyes open for the entire day. Bruce knew that even if they managed to capture the Joker, he would get out and when he got out Hailey would go back to him. There was no way he ended up with Hailey if the Joker was still alive. And he couldn't kill the Joker. For one it was against his own rule and secondly Hailey would hate him if he killed the Joker, and he would lose her anyway. The only way Bruce would even have the slightest possibility of a happy ending is if the Joker got killed by someone other than himself, and since the entire public were terrified of him and most of the mob were behind bars, Bruce doubted that would happen.

By the time Hailey and Jay made it downstairs again it was lunchtime. The guys were lounging around the hideout and Hailey couldn't help the blush that creeped up when Ben saw her and winked. She basically fled into the kitchen, breathing out a heavy sigh of relief that no one was in there. "This is so embarrassing!" She complained to Jay when he sat down at the table. "They all know exactly what happened! And they were here this morning and… oh my god they totally heard us!" Hailey wailed mortified.

"What's the big deal toots?" Jay asked her, raising an eyebrow. "Even if they hadn't come back until tonight, they all would have known exactly what happened."

Hailey let her head slump down onto the table. "I did not think this plan through thoroughly. I can't face them now. And Ben! Oh my God I can't believe he saw me in that! This is horrible, just leave me here to die."

"What was that?" The Joker asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Um…leave me here to die?" Hailey repeated, not understanding what the problem was.

"No no no, the uh, the part right before that."

"Um…and Ben, shit!" Hailey yelled realizing what she had just said.

"Yeah, uh that part. That's what I meant. Now do you mean to tell me that, little Ben over there, uh saw you in that outfit?" He growled out the last part.

"Shit shit, Jay, just listen ok? Don't freak out please! It was my fault, I was really nervous and like I told you I wasn't sure if everything was right, and Ben was the one who had helped me with it and I was having a freakout, and he protested. He didn't want to see me like that but I made him because I wanted everything to be perfect for you! And oh god please don't hurt him!" Hailey looked over at the Joker and could have punched him. He was laughing! At her! "What is so funny about this?"

"I think it's really cute and really stupid that you were so nervous about me not liking my present. And because you're so cute I'll let this slide, but only this once. If anything like that happens again, I'll kill him. I like Ben, I really do, but I like you more. And I. Don't. Like. To. Share. My. Things. Got it doll?" Hailey breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over to kiss Jay.

Ben walked in just at that moment. "Really guys? In the kitchen? People eat in here."

"Oh shut up jerk, I totally just saved your ass." Hailey stuck her tongue out at him.

"Saved my ass? Why did my ass need saving in the first place?" Ben questioned her. The Joker growled and looked over at him. "Oh, shit. Hailey you told him? What part of 'if the boss finds out I've seen you like this he'll kill me' didn't you understand?"

"Um, yeah I've got no excuse, my bad. But he's not going to kill you, he told me, so you're all good!" Hailey smiled, trying to get Ben to forgive her.

"Jesus girl, you are going to get me killed one day." He sighed before leaving the kitchen.

Hailey smiled as he walked away. "Well, at least I'm not mortified now." She said.


	31. Sparring, Lock Picking, and Rebecaa

"Hey Jay?" Hailey asked as they were sitting on a couch.

"Hm?" Jay grunted in response, he was working on a new project.

"Can you teach me how to fight?" Hailey asked. "Well not teach me, I already know, but can I practice with you? Or with one of the guys?"

"I don't want you fighting with the guys." Jay responded, "I don't trust them with you like that. But uh sure I'll spar with you."

"Thanks Jay." Hailey smiled at him and rewarded him with a quick kiss.

"Why do you want to?" he asked after a moment. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer but he wanted to double check.

"I haven't practiced in a while, and if you don't practice you forget things and it makes it easier to get taken." Hailey explained. "Now I know you'll never let that happen again." Hailey cut Jay off before he could interrupt, "but it's happened before. And if it happens again I want to cause the most damage before I get taken down." The Joker nodded in understanding, he didn't like it, but it made sense.

"Well in that case, what are we waiting for?" He asked standing up. "C'mon we'll go down to the basement, there's more room there.

For the next two hours Hailey and the Joker sparred. The Joker was in better shape and drove Hailey hard, until she was panting and could barely lift her arm to punch him. When the Joker finally called stop, Hailey practically collapsed to the floor. "I am so glad," Hailey gasped out, "that you like me, and we're not actually fighting." The Joker smirked at her and offered her a hand up.

"We'll go again tomorrow." He told her as they headed up the stairs.

"Awesome," Hailey said somewhat sarcastically. She really was excited to spar, but she wasn't sure she was going to be able to move tomorrow, let alone fight the Joker. "Hey, once I get better at fist fighting can you teach me to fight with knives?"

The Joker smiled widely at her, "I thought you'd never ask." He winked at her as they entered the kitchen. Hailey quickly filled a glass with water and downed it; she was dying of thirst.

"Jay?" Hailey asked after she had reclaimed her breath. "Um, can I call my parents?" Hailey's voice got quiet at the end of her request. She didn't want Jay to think she was having second thoughts about being back, but she still missed her parents, they were her family.

The Joker didn't like the idea of sharing Hailey, but after looking at her face he realized how important this was to her. "Yeah, sure toots." He told her. "I'll uh be upstairs." He left the room and Hailey walked over to the phone.

Gordon wasn't really sure what to do, it was protocol to have the force looking for the Joker, and as much as he wanted to see Hailey, he didn't really want them to find her. As of right now no one knew where Hailey was, and that included the mob. He had heard from his sourced that after Hailey had been taken again the Joker had killed all of his new guys, so he didn't need to worry about any snitches. So for the time being Hailey was safe, as long as the Joker still liked her, and as much as it pained Gordon to admit it, it seemed like the clown did. It wasn't even the possessiveness Gordon had originally believed it to be. No. The Joker honestly _cared_ for his daughter. Gordon had taken a few days off to rest after everything that had happened, so he was at home with his wife and two younger kids. They were sitting around enjoying lunch when the phone rang. Barbara got up to get it, and came rushing back in a moment later.

"Jim, pick up a phone, it's Hailey!" Gordon let out a sigh of relief. It was one thing to hear that his daughter was…safe with the Joker; it was another thing entirely to hear it from her own mouth.

"Hailey?" Gordon asked after he picked up the phone.

"Hey dad," Hailey replied, still slightly winded from sparring.

"How…how are you?" Her mother asked relieved to be talking to her daughter but not really sure what to say.

"I'm good." Hailey smiled, "Really. Look, I'm sorry that I'm not with you guys, I know you love me, and I do love you, but it's just not safe. I know that most of the mob is locked up right now awaiting trial, but some of them are still out there. And if I've learned one thing it's that the mob doesn't forget. They won't stop coming after me until either they're all gone, or I'm dead. And I really don't see any of those two options happening in the near future, so I'm going to stay with Jay."

"We understand honey," her mother replied softly, "And we love you too."

"But why did you leave Batman?" Jim asked, "You do know he didn't really kill those men." Maybe if he explained that to her she would go back to him and away from the Joker.

Hailey laughed, "Yes I know dad, I've known for a while it was Harvey. And I left because sooner or later Jay was going to find out that the mob no longer had me, and that I was with Batman." Hailey paused trying to figure out how to explain it. "Batman and Joker had a deal, Joker wouldn't terrorize the city and Batman wouldn't hunt him while they looked for me. Because Jay still thought I was with the mob he was sticking to his part of the deal. Jay doesn't like people who lie or deceive, so he was going to be pissed once he found out that Batman had been lying to him. And then he was going to try and figure out Batman's identity. And I know he's tried in the past but before it was just a game. You know the lengths he's gone to before to try and find me, he would have found out who Batman is. And I couldn't let that happen." Hailey explained softly.

"You know who he is." Her mom said; it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, I do." Hailey sighed. "Please don't ask me who, I won't tell you."

"We know hun." Her mom answered. After a moment she asked "Is he handsome?"

Hailey smiled and laughed to herself; "Yes, he is." After that the tension was gone from the conversation. They talked about meaningless things, and it was just nice for Hailey to hear her parents' voices. "Hey, can you put Jimmy and Jamie on?" She asked.

"Ok course, Hailey." Gordon responded. She heard him say something to Jimmy and Jamie, probably telling them she was on the phone and smiled. She was going to miss seeing them.

"Hailey!" They both cried into the phone happily. "We miss you."

"I miss you guys too, but I'm safer at school." She told them, remembering that they thought she had gone back to college.

"We know." Jamie said, "But we still wish you were here."

"Yeah, mom and dad don't play as good as you." Jimmie added.

Hailey laughed at that. "Yeah, well they're obviously not as cool as I am. But I'll tell you what, I'll visit you guys as soon as I can." She promised them.

"Really?"

"Really, really." Hailey replied her voice starting to crack at the end. She hadn't realized how much she missed them until she talked to them. "I have to go soon, so can you put mom and dad back on the line?" She asked them, she didn't want them to hear here break down. That wouldn't be good for them.

"Is there anything we can do for you Hailey?" Her father asked once he was back on the line.

"Not really," Hailey sighed. "Just keep Jimmy and Jamie safe."

"We will." Her mother promised her.

"Ok, well I should probably go. I love you guys."

"We love you too Hailey. Take care." Hailey hung up the phone and let out a strangled cry. It just wasn't fair! She loved being with Jay, she really did. But it wasn't fair that the mob had taken away the possibility of her staying with her family, or really ever seeing her family for the foreseeable future. Hailey took a deep breath to calm herself down, it was no use to cry and get emotional. Once she felt like herself again she went upstairs to find Jay.

He was in his office, tinkering with…something. Hailey wasn't really sure what it was. It could be anything from a bomb to a children's toy when it came to the Joker. "Hey," she said quietly. It was dangerous to be loud around the Joker when he was working on something and didn't know you were there. He had a tendency to either throw the thing at you or shoot you; luckily Hailey had learned this by observation and not by first hand experience.

The Joker looked up at her, "You alright doll?" Hailey smiled and nodded before sitting down next to him.

"So what are you working on?" She asked pointing to the object in his hands. On closer inspection Hailey could see that it was some sort of complicated lock.

"I'm keeping up on my lock-picking skills." He answered smiling. His paint was starting to flake off, and a lot of it was smudged from the sparring, but his infamous smile was still clearly painted on.

"Will you teach me?" Hailey asked, motioning to the lock. "I mean not on that one, it looks too complex. But on a simpler lock, will you teach me?"

The Joker looked at her, as if trying to solve a puzzle. "Is this your way of telling me you want to become a criminal toots?" He laughed.

Hailey rolled her eyes and playfully shoved his shoulder. "Not yet, sorry Jay." She laughed. "It just seems like something useful, you know, just in case."

"In case you get taken by the mob again." He growled out.

"That, or if I'm taken by anyone else. Or what if you get taken and I need to break you out?" Hailey asked. "I don't always have to be the one getting rescued."

"If I get caught you're gonna need to know more than how to pick a lock." Jay laughed at her.

"Ok then, teach me." Hailey said seriously. The Joker raised an eyebrow at her.

"What is this really about doll?" He asked her. "And don't lie to me." He reminded her.

Hailey sighed before answering the question. "No matter what happens, even if the mob gets locked up for good, nothing's going to go back to normal. What am I supposed to do after? Leave you and go back home? Go back to school? Jay I've been on national news, there is no going back. I don't want to become a criminal mastermind, but what if something happens to you? If I choose to stay with you but then you get hurt and captured, or killed, am I just supposed to go back to my family? How many times will they accept me with open arms after I choose you over them?" Hailey paused to collect herself. "I just want to be prepared for the worst." She finished, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ok then." Jay said, "Try this one." He threw her a lock, Hailey wasn't really sure when he had grabbed it. "And take these." He tossed her a lock picking kit. For the next couple hours Jay taught Hailey how to pick locks, gradually going up in difficulty. They stopped when Doc knocked on the door informing them that it was dinnertime. Hailey put down the lock that she had been working on and rubbed her back. It was sore from having been hunched over for so long.

As Jay stood up his back popped and cracked. Hailey had forgotten that he had been sitting there for longer than she had. "C'mon toots, you can't recue me if you don't have your strength." He joked before walking out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. Hailey rolled her eyes, smiling, and followed him.

Bruce knew that it was good that the Joker still wasn't back on the streets; it was less chaotic. But rounding up lower level criminal just seemed like a chore. He had always said that there would be a time when Gotham didn't need Batman, and if the Joker didn't do something soon, Bruce would begin to think that day had come early. But he knew that the Joker wouldn't stay inside forever, and if he did make a move, Bruce wanted to already be outside patrolling. So he passed his nights by busting up small drug deals and chasing down the stray mugger. Honestly, it was boring. On the plus side he never needed to stitch himself up once he got home, and he could actually sleep in his bed.

But every time Bruce went out as Batman, and didn't run into the Joker, it just reminded him that the Joker was probably with Hailey. And he couldn't stand to think that, so on the nights where his emotions got the best of him he probably beat up the muggers a little too much, but Gordon never mentioned it.

Because the Joker wasn't causing any problems, Bruce settled for going out as Batman every other night. The other nights he would keep up his billionaire playboy façade. It was becoming infuriating. He really did just want to find someone who he could see himself spending the rest of his life with. But unfortunately for him in order to keep his cover her had to go out with people who only wanted him for his money or fame. And in his heart he knew that it would be hard to find anyone he didn't automatically compare to either Rachael or Hailey.

Tonight he was going out with a model from Chicago who was in town for some fancy fashion show. He was pretty sure that her name was Rebecca. He looked at his reflection once more in the mirror to make sure no bruises or cuts were showing and headed out the door. He was picking her up at her hotel, and then they were going out to dinner. Within minutes he was pulling up to her hotel. Bruce parked the car nearby and walked in, they had agreed to meet in the lobby. He scanned the room and caught a hold of her.

Her brown hair was curled and fell down her back in beautiful waves. Her dress was a floor-length light pink gown. It hugged her curves and fell elegantly to the floor. The midsection was tastefully jeweled in a silver design. The dress was only secured at one shoulder, and there was a long piece of the sheer material, which fell down her back. In short, she looked stunning. But that wasn't what caught Bruce's attention the most, no it was the fact that while she was waiting for him, instead of checking her reflection in her hand held mirror as most of his dates did, she was reading. In fact she was so engrossed in her book that she didn't notice him until he was standing right in front of her. "Hi," He said softly. Rebecca jumped and squeaked almost dropping her book.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry. Have you been waiting for long?" Her voice was so different from what he had expected. It was smooth like silk and seemed to caress you.

"Don't worry about it," Bruce laughed. "I just got here, and I would hate to get between a girl and her book. I can come back later if you want." He joked, smiling at her. It seemed like forever ago that he had smiled, in reality it had only been about a week.

Rebecca smiled back at him and played along, "Oh would you? That would be great." She pretended to turn back to her book, but couldn't last long without laughing.

"So, shall we head out?" Bruce asked her, extending his arm for her to grab.

'We shall." Rebecca replied, tucking her book away in her purse and grabbing Bruce's arm. "Lead the way."

A/N 1: Ok so yeah as always it's been s super long time since I updated…totally my bad, but on the plus side I FINALLY KNOW HOW I'm GOING TO END THIS! Like literally I have had no idea for years how this story was going to end and I had always just sort of hoped that an idea would come to me. And you all better be thankful that my interim class was super boring because I have now planned out everything from this chapter to the end of the story! So this means that I should be updating more often because I know what I'm going to write! YAY!

A/N 2: So Hailey's turning kind of awesome…I'm so proud of her also Bruce might finally meet someone good for him…but then again we know that his luck with the ladies is not stellar so we'll see how this goes.

A/N 3: As always please feel free to review, the more reviews I get the more guilty I feel for not posting a new chapter, so the faster you get a new chapter


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